


For Rent

by prcttyodd



Category: youtube - Fandom
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fanfic, Funny, Humor, Leafy, Romantic Comedy, romcom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-05 23:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 37,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11588403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prcttyodd/pseuds/prcttyodd
Summary: "You know I'm not here for love right? I'm here to pretend to be your boyfriend, and that's it."XXCalvin Vail. He dropped out of college to become a YouTuber full time, only to find out that after three years his channel would flop. Looking for a way to make fast money, he decides to become a "rental boyfriend", where he would pretend to be someone's boyfriend for a day or two. It was harmless, easy, and he made good money. What could go wrong?Then Brooke Hayes calls, looking for a date to her family's annual Christmas party. It's like any job to Calvin, until Brooke seems like she's looking for a little more than a rental boyfriend...





	1. info.

"You know I'm not here for love right? I'm here to pretend to be your boyfriend, and that's it." 

XX 

Calvin Vail. He dropped out of college to become a YouTuber full time, only to find out that after three years his channel would flop. Looking for a way to make fast money, he decides to become a "rental boyfriend", where he would pretend to be someone's boyfriend for a day or two. It was harmless, easy, and he made good money. What could go wrong? 

Then Brooke Hayes calls, looking for a date to her family's annual Christmas party. It's like any job to Calvin, until Brooke seems like she's looking for a little more than a rental boyfriend... 

XX 

A/N: hey! Look I'm starting yet another fanfic haha. I can't help it. When I get an idea, I have to use it or else I go crazy. It's the way my brain works. I can't stand to have all of these drafts(I have like 12 rn and they're driving me crazy because I want to publish them so bad wtf) 

As usual, here are the notes: 

•This idea has been playing through my mind for awhile now. 

•The idea actually came from a sappy romance novel I was reading simply because I read all of the books I owned 87 times lmao

•I have done a lot of research on the topic of rental boyfriends, because to me it's actually kinda interesting and I thought it would make a good story. 

I feel like I kinda have to explain the basics of this before the story begins so that it isn't hella confusing so here you go: (always refer to this chapter if something in the story doesn't make sense to you) 

• "Rental Boyfriends" are a huge thing in China and Japan, but there are also people that do it in America. It's just mainly a thing there. 

•I've read many accounts of what these rental boyfriends do on their line of work. 

•The way it works is that you would basically pay a man to be your "boyfriend" for a day. These guys actually sometimes charge a lot. 

•The guys who decide to pursue this job are usually in it to make some money, and some of them would rather do this than become a prostitute or something like that. 

•In China, most of the guys that do it are older guys that do it because they are single and women do not want to marry them, because they do not have any money. Since this story takes place in America and the customs are not the same there as it is in China, I've changed it up a little bit. As you read in the description, Calvin is in it simply to make money. 

•Women would usually hire these rental men as dates so that they don't have to hear from family about how they were still single. 

•Some would even hire them because they simply want to show off and feel better about themselves. 

I think that's the basics of it, if you have anything you want cleared up let me know. 

Sorry that was so long, I just wanted to clear some things up before you start so that there isn't any confusion, because I know I was confused when I first heard about this. 

So I hope you all are excited for this one as I am!


	2. 1.

A/N: so much support already, I love you guys so damn much. <3

Anyway, let's just get into the first chapter of this story! 

XX 

Calvin couldn't believe that it had all come to this. He couldn't believe that he was actually doing this right now, when he could have been making and editing videos. 

He would never admit it to anyone, but even thinking about his YouTube channel made his heart hurt. He would often reminisce about how many views he used to get, how many subscribers he used to gain a day. It was hard to believe that something that was going so good had went downhill in a matter of seconds. Well it wasn't in a matter of seconds. It was a long time coming, if he was being honest. 

But whether he deserved it or not, it didn't change the fact that he had actually dropped college to pursue a career in making videos. He was silly enough to believe that he would be set for life. 

He wanted to go back and pursue what he had been before, but at this point, he was flat broke. 

Many people asked him why he chose the job that he had over something else, something that was much easier. 

"Why would you choose to be a fucking rental boyfriend? I've never even heard of that. Just be a prostitute. At least you'll get sex and money out of it." His friend, Ryan, had asked him one day, laughing. 

"Yeah and a bunch of STDs. I mean... These chicks pay some good ass money for me to pretend that I'm their fate for a day or two. They're desperate so if I want them to pay more, I can just simply ask and they'll do what I say. It's good cash." Calvin had replied, chuckling. He honestly didn't know how he had even found out about this job even existing, but once he did and saw how many girls would be willing to pay good money, he was in. 

He had put himself out on the web as a "rental boyfriend" on Backpage about a year ago, and he had been at it ever since. 

Even though it had been a whole year already, he couldn't help but think of his channel from time to time. He often wondered what videos he would be making at this point. Would be still be making the same thing he was before? What if all of that had never happened? What if he never... 

"Calvin?" He heard a soft female voice ask, breaking him from his trance. 

How long had he been daydreaming? This always happened to him. He didn't exactly love his "job", it was the money that kept him going. So he would often find himself distracted. 

He never had a "connection" with any of the girls he rented himself to(he and his friends would often laugh at how wrong that sounded). They were just money to him, nothing special. 

"S... Sorry." He mumbled to the girl, who was named Cassandra. She was nice. She needed a date for a friend's house party, so that nobody tried to fix her up with anyone. 

"Come on." She said, grabbing and tugging at his hand. The one thing that he hated about this job was he had to fake affection with these girls. 

Calvin was never a guy for love and affection. He was more of a solitary guy that loved to work... 

Calvin. That's your past. Get the fuck over it. You're here now, and this is what you chose to do. So stop thinking about all of that and just move on already. 

They walked in, hand in hand. Calvin was used to this, he was used to holding people and faking he loved them. He had never really been in love before, he had never really felt the need for it. One would think that him doing a job like this would mean he would find love or at least be attracted to one of the girls he met, but that was never the case. 

The party was boring for Calvin. Sure, he loved getting drunk and high, but not around people he didn't even know. To him, the party was mostly just people talking and taking shots. People were talking to him, trying to get to know him, to make sure he was good enough for her friend. 

He was used to things like this happening. It happened every time. Sometimes the other girls whispered about how his fake girlfriend was so "lucky", and sometimes they would ask him about himself. 

He made up who he was of course. He couldn't be the guy who had lost it all and was pretending to love someone. Depending on what he was feeling that day, he would adopt someone new. Some days, he was entrepreneur, some he was just a guy that wanted to settle down soon and have a family. None of them were the real Calvin Vail. 

The real Calvin Vail, he was a guy that didn't really know who he was anymore. He was a guy that was lost in the shadows of who he once was. He was once a sensation, and now he was just lost. 

The party seemed to drag on. Calvin drank a lot, mostly to try and stop thinking about everything going on. He tried to get out of his past when he was on the job. He couldn't look sad. He couldn't look like he'd rather be doing anything else. 

"Thanks." Cassandra muttered as he pretended to walk her out to her car. 

"Wait." Calvin said. He needed a ride, he was pretty intoxicated and didn't think that he could drive like this. "I need a ride." He told her. She hadn't really had much to drink during the party, unlike him. 

They rode home in silence. She knew where he lived, because they had met up prior to this party. 

She dropped him off, telling him "thanks again" as he got out of the car. 

"No problem, it's my job." He said drunkly. He walked into his home, not looking back. 

It had just been another day on the job. 

XX 

A/N: aye first chapter. I know it was kinda boring and dragged out, but it was necessary to get the ball rolling, ya know? It'll get interesting soon guys. 

As for those of you waiting for an update for "Crazy", it shall be coming soon. I've just been kinda having a little bit of writer's block and I've been drifting away from the story. But don't worry it'll be here soon. 

I'm also v excited for this book? Like I've been doing so much research and plotting for it it's crazy lmao. 

Also almost 100 reads already? Wtf. 

As always, love you guys and thanks for reading my trash. <3


	3. 2.

A/N: the support you guys are giving me really is amazing. Glad you all are as excited as me. 

I don't have much to say, so let's just get into the second chapter shall we? 

XX 

Brooke Hayes absolutely despised the Christmas season. It wasn't the holiday itself that she hated, it was the sickening amount of "love" in the air. 

To many people, Christmas was all about snuggling up with those you "loved". And even if you didn't have a boyfriend or girlfriend, you still had your family. 

But what about when they all looked at you like a disgrace? What if they laughed behind your back, and even sometimes in front of you? 

That was the case for Brooke, of course. It wasn't like she didn't deserve it either. She was still single, which was counted as a sin in her family. She wasn't planning on settling down either, which was even worse. 

Brooke was the type of girl to get drunk in front of her parents. She was the type to forget to give them a call on birthdays and holidays. She was the one girl in the family that everyone forgot about, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't like it that way. 

She hadn't talked to her family in awhile. She hadn't attended any of their famous little "holiday parties". 

That's why she was shocked when her mom had called her. It was about ten days until Christmas, and Brooke was losing all of her Christmas spirit. Not that there was much in the first place. 

When the phone had initially rung, she thought that it was one of her friends, and that they wanted to go out or something. It was all she did anymore, go out and drink. Especially around the Christmas season. It was always good drown out this horrible holiday with alcohol. The way Brooke saw it, Christmas meant nothing once you didn't live with your parents and didn't believe in Santa. 

But when she saw that the number calling was her mother, she almost dropped her phone. She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't going crazy. Sure enough, it was her mother. 

She answered the phone, hands shaking. What could her mother want? Was she calling to see if her daughter wasn't the family fuck up? 

Well, mom, sorry to get your hopes up... 

"Brooke?" Her mom's voice was the same as she remembered. She didn't why she had expected it to be any different. 

"Mom? Is it really you?" Brooke didn't know why she had asked such a dumb question, but she was so in disbelief that her mom was calling that she didn't know what to say. 

"Yeah. It's me. Sorry to call you out of nowhere. But the rest of my family and I decided that we're going to have a Christmas party in which the whole family is invited. Take it as a reunion of sorts." 

Brooke felt her mouth widen in horror at her mother's words. She was in no shape to see all of her family again. She was even worse off than she was before. 

God, they'd really be laughing at how I am now... 

"Brooke? Are you still there?" Her mother asked, sounding a bit impatient. The same way she always sounded whenever she talked to Brooke. 

"I am." Brooke answered. 

"So, do you want to come to the party? You don't have to..." 

Brooke wanted to say no. She really did. But if she did, her family would think even less of her. She could them all in her mind already, mocking her. Or would they even notice if she was gone? "Y... Yes mom. I'll go." 

"Okay, good. We all look forward to seeing you. Is there someone now, or are you still single?" 

"No, mom. I actually have someone now." Brooke lied, not even sure why she had done so. There was no going back now. 

"Oh, that's great. Can't wait to meet him." Her mom even sounded like she didn't believe her. Brooke didn't blame her. 

"Yeah I can't for you all to meet him either." 

"How long have you two been together?" 

Why the fuck was she asking so many questions? She really doesn't believe me, does she? 

"Almost 6 months." She said, hoping that she would be able to sell this to her mother. 

"Mhm." Her mom replied. 

Fuck. She doesn't believe it. 

"Well, see you and him there I guess." She told her daughter, and then hung up. 

Brooke threw her phone onto the couch and sat down, putting her face into her hands. 

Why had she done that? Why had she lied to her mother? And to top it off, she didn't even believe Brooke. 

What was she going to do? 

She could call in sick before the party. Nah. They would get to suspicious. She could say that she and her "boyfriend" had broken up. No. Then they would know for sure that it was a lie. 

She had to find a way to prove them wrong, but how could she do that? This was already a mess, and the party hadn't even happened yet. Brooke couldn't help but think that the party would be a disaster too. 

Brooke let out a sigh. "I need a drink." She mumbled to herself. 

XX 

A/N: aye! Second chapter. Sorry it wasn't that long, I'll try and make it longer next time. 

But anyway, hope you all enjoyed and once again thanks for all of the support on this book so far. Love you guys SM!


	4. 3.

A/N: 500 reads what what what. We're already half way to 1K and it's only chapter three. As always, thanks. 

XX

"You really got yourself into some shit, didn't you Brooke?" Brooke's best friend, Nick, stated as she stepped into his house. 

"Yeah, no shit." Brooke replied. 

"Woah, no need to get pissed. I was just joking around with you." 

"I know, you ass. But I really don't think I can fix this." Brooke said, walking into his TV room and placing herself on the couch. 

This place was like her second home. Well, her second home was actually the bar, but this was another place where she spent a large majority of her time. 

She and Nick had been friends since middle school. They had always been the kids that never really cared about anything and what other thought, the kids that would skip class to go get high. 

She was surprised that Nick has stuck with her this whole time, but she was glad that he did. Because he was the one who was always there for her when she had a problem. He was always the one that she talked about her family too. He was the one that knew everything about her. 

"I'm sure that there's something you can do. Say you broke up with him." Nick said. 

"I can't do that. Then it'll become obvious that I made it up." 

"Well what are you gonna do? You want to take me as your date or something?" 

Brooke laughed. "You do realize my parents know we're friends right? Especially since I've known you since I was about 13. She'll definitely know something is wrong with that." 

"Eh you're right. I have to go to my own family's party anyway. I mean it is kinda weird to just go to our families and say 'oh we've known each other for over 10 years and now we realize that we have feelings.' That just screams fake relationship." 

"Yeah. Fuck. I should've just told her the truth, and declined the party invitation. That would've been the easy way out." 

"You're Brooke Hayes. You make everything more complicated than it has to be, and you always get yourself into trouble." Nick said, laughing. 

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Not funny. You got into a lot of trouble too."  

"Yeah. Whatever. Listen, you should google it. Google what to do when you don't have a boyfriend for a family gathering. See what people say." 

Brooke laughed. "You're a fucking idiot." 

"I'm the idiot? I'm not the one that told my mom I was in a relationship." 

Brooke let out a loud sigh. "Okay. I'll google it." She didn't know what she thought was going to come up. 

Brooke burst out laughing. "Look. A result from backpage came up. A 'rental boyfriend'. Look." She clicked on the link and began to read. It says 'need somebody to fake your family out? To get some people off your back? Or just to show off? Give me a call.'" Below the description was his phone number, and other information. 

"Why are you laughing. That guy could be your savior." Nick said. 

"Yeah. I guess. But you think he's legit? It has his name and number right here, so it has to be right?" 

"You won't know until you give him a call. I bet you're happy that I told you to google it now, right?" 

"I guess." 

"What do you mean you guess? You'd be fucking lost without me, don't try to fucking lie and say otherwise." 

"You're right. I have no choice but to love you." 

"So you're gonna give that guy a call?" 

"Yeah, I will later. The worst that can happen is that he turns out fake." Brooke chuckled. 

"Do it. Maybe he's hot. Maybe you could date him for real too." 

"Yeah, let's not go that far. Hopefully this works out. If not, I'm definitely fucked. I can't believe that things like this actually exist. I thought this was a thing in fucking China or something." 

"Apparently it's a thing here too. And you'd be an idiot not to take advantage of it." 

XX

Christmas for Calvin, on the other hand, was a great time. Business boomed. People were calling him left and right. 

With his business though, it was first come first serve. There was no other way that it could be. He was amazed at how many people needed him to help them face their families. 

Christmas parties were always the same to him. The same family gathering around and handing presents to each other, acting like they're happy to be there when they really want more than anything to get home and sleep. 

The 10 or so days before Christmas were the busiest for him. He got a bunch of calls from women needing him, and he would be lying if he didn't say it was a bit overwhelming. 

Last year, he had gone to at least 5 parties on Christmas Day. He and the girl would agree that he would stay for a couple hours and then pretend like he had to go. It was best that way, so he could help multiple people out and make even more money. 

Christmas was 10 days away, and he was getting a ton of calls and emails already. He was expecting them of course. He was one of the only people in America that offered the services that he did. 

"Hey, are you the rental boyfriend guy from backpage? Calvin?" The girl asked on the other end. 

"I am, what can I do for you?" He asked her, trying to sound professional. When he had first started this job, he simply responded with "who else would it be?" thinking that it would be good to start off with a joke. But it was just the opposite. It usually gave people the wrong impression, and they thought that he was just being plain rude. 

"Well... I don't really know how to put this. I kinda got myself into a shit mess, and I need a way to cover it up." 

"A shit mess? Explain." Calvin said, chuckling. He has heard things like this a million times. He wondered what her story was going to be. 

"Well... My mom invited me over to a Christmas party, and I kinda told her I had a serious boyfriend. Like a six month relationship. I didn't know this thing existed until I looked it up... So I just thought I'd call now, because you said on backpage that you wanted me to call a few days ahead." 

Calvin has dealt with plenty of girls with the same problem as her, this was like any job that he'd done. "Yeah.. I just like it if you call earlier so that we can meet up first and talk so that the relationship at least seems genuine." That was one of the weirdest parts of his job, but it had to be done. He couldn't just meet up with them at the party or wherever they needed him and expected the family to believe that they were dating. They had to talk, and he had to get to know her a little bit. That way, if the family was paying close attention, it would at least seem like he was interested. 

"So... We're all good? You're free?" He could tell she was desperate. 

"Yeah. I am. You're the first one to call so far for a Christmas party. Just so know now, I can usually only stay at the parties for an hour or two. We'll talk more about it later on, but it is depending on how many people call me to go to a party or something that day. It's usually a booming day for business, you know?" 

"Yeah. It's fine. Just as long as my family at least sees you I'll be good." 

"Alright. Good. Now, what's your name?" Calvin chuckled. "Should've asked you that in the first place." 

"It's Brooke. Brooke Hayes." 

"Okay. Brooke." He said, trying out her name. He had heard and learned so many girl's names since he had started this. So it was always easy to forget who one was or mix one up with one that he had met before. "When do you want to meet up?" 

"Whenever is fine with me." 

"The sooner the better. Tomorrow maybe? We could get coffee or something in the morning and hang out for the day, you know maybe get to know each other a bit." 

"Okay, that sounds good to me. So we'll meet up in the morning then?" 

"Sure. Whenever you want. Just give me a call." 

"Alright. Oh and thanks by the way. You know, for doing this for me." 

"No need to thank me really. This is my job." 

"Whatever you say. But still, I'm grateful." 

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." 

"Yep. Tomorrow it is." 

XX

A/N: and boom. Another chapter down. Sorry if it's really boring so far. It'll get juicy soon, I promise. 

Also, sorry for making you guys wait nearly a week for an update. I have so many stories going on and no schedule whatsoever Fml

As always, thanks for reading and I love you all so much!


	5. 4.

"Fuck whoever invented waking up." Brooke said as she heard her phone alarm go off. She told herself that she would wake up early to get ready, because she usually woke up at 2 in the afternoon, or so, depending on how wasted she was the night before. She didn't have a hangover today though, she was just pissed that she had to wake up earlier than she usually did. 

Early, for her, was 10:00. So that's exactly the time she set her alarm for. It was way too early for her to function. 

She knew she could've just shut the alarm off and went back to sleep, forgetting the whole thing with her new "boyfriend" all together. She really wanted to. But she had to do this she could face her family. She couldn't be the Brooke that everyone knew, the slacker. 

After Christmas, things would resume as normal. She wouldn't speak with her family again if she didn't want to. She didn't have to have a thing to do with them. And if they ever asked about her "boyfriend" afterwards, she could say that they broke up. All they had to do was see her with him, and everything was all good. 

She had to eat breakfast before she did anything, though. Without food, she was unable to function. 

She walked into her kitchen and poured herself some cereal. She would eat, get ready, and by the time she did all of that, it would be lunch time. 

She would've went out for coffee with him, but it was too early for that and she would rather eat than sit around in a coffee shop. She didn't even like coffee, anyway. 

As she ate, she wondering what this guy even looked like. She had only heard his voice so far, and you could only judge so much from that. You could hear somebody's voice and sort of picture what they look like, but once you meet them, they're someone totally different than you pictured. 

She supposed it didn't matter what he looked like, because she was only dating him for a day anyway. She'd rather it be someone that was dull and basic, rather than some stud. 

Even if he was hot, she probably wouldn't end up having feelings for him anyway. She was over the stage in her life where she needed love. She didn't need someone to be happy. That was just something that she felt she was young, but after much experience, she realized that it all was a hoax. Love wasn't real. There was no such thing. 

She ate her whole bowl of cereal without tasting any of it. She was too lost in her own thoughts. 

After she was done, she dumped it into the sink, and threw it in the dishwasher with all of the other plates, bowls, and such. 

According to her mother, nobody would want to marry her anyway. She was lazy, and always depending on other people or appliances to do things for her. She barely cooked, and relied on frozen meals, fast food, and restaurants instead. She didn't clean the house until it was beyond dirty. She was useless, just as her mom had once told her. 

But she would make her mom eat her own words... Kinda. Even if she was gonna go to the party hand in hand with a guy, she was technically single. She was still the lonely girl that everyone knew her as. 

She shook those thoughts from her head and decided to just get ready. She didn't need to worry about that. Nobody needed to know what was really going on. She was a good liar, sad as it was. She could pull it off. 

After she was ready, she gave Calvin a call. She wanted to make sure he was still up for the meet up. She didn't know why, but she felt like he would ditch. 

"You're an idiot." She said to herself. She called him. He was still on, of course. They decided to meet up at the mall. They could shop and all of that for a bit, then go to lunch. 

He asked what she looked like, so that he could identify her. Thing was, she didn't know how to describe herself. Basic? She was, once she thought about it. Her hair was dark brown(so dark that it was almost black), and extremely curly and frizzy. She was extremely short. Her eyes were about as dark as her hair. She was nothing special, and far from beautiful. So, instead  of describing herself, she just described her outfit to him. 

She looked in the mirror one last time before she decided to go. She still couldn't believe that she was doing this. 

XX 

At the mall, Brooke went over towards the fountain that was in the middle of the place, and sat on the edge. She told Calvin that she was going to be here. 

It was filled with coins, from people tossing them in and making wishes. She has always done so as a kid. 

If she reached her hand in, she could probably pull out at least a hundred dollars in change. The coins had never been touched in years. 

She pulled a coin out of her pocket. She didn't know why, but she felt a sudden urge to make a wish. 

The feel of sitting next to the fountain was taking her back to her childhood. She remembered when she was young, and her mother would take her here. She would sometimes not even make a wish, she would just throw a coin in there for the sake of throwing a coin in there. Her mom would always make sure to stop at the fountain and have a coin saved for her. 

"I wish... My family wouldn't hate me anymore. I just want them to finally accept me." She whispered, gripping the coin in her hand before dropping it into the fountain. It fell in with a small plop, and she smiled as she watched it fall in. 

"Brooke?" She heard someone call out, and she recognized the voice immediately. It was the guy from the phone, the fake boyfriend guy. 

She felt her face go red as she turned to face the guy. 

She didn't know exactly what she had expected him to look like, but this definitely wasn't it. She wasn't going to complain, though. He was actually quite good looking. She must have been staring for too long, because he mumbled "Shit, wrong girl." and began to walk away. 

"No, it's me... Uh... Calvin." She said, struggling to remember his name. She felt embarrassed all of a sudden, feeling blood rush to her cheeks. 

"Oh okay. Aright." He said. 

Well this is... Pretty damn awkward. Brooke said to herself, looking down at her feet. This was off to a great start. 

"So... Where should we go first?" He asked, finally breaking the silence. 

"Might as well go to eat." She said, standing up. This was already extremely awkward. She hoped that once they talked the tension would ease between them, but as of now, it was sort of unbearable. 

They decided on some grill place. Brooke didn't really care. Normally she would, but she wasn't really thinking at the moment. She was thinking more about the guy that was standing beside her. 

She wanted to face palm in the middle of the mall. She would be the first to admit it, she was getting a ridiculous. She just met the guy. It wasn't like she felt "love at first sight" or something. Nah. He was just kind of cute to her, and that was it. 

At the restaurant, they simply talked about their lives. What they did for a living. Calvin talked a bit about his job, and how it was strange, but at the same time kind of fun. 

"I get to go to parties and shit with random chicks, and drink. I mean that's not that fucking bad." He said. 

She chuckled nervously, staring down at the table intently, as if there was something there. She was wondering what she was going to say once it was her turn to talk. Tell him the truth? Make something up? She supposed it didn't matter anyway, since he didn't have to know who she really was. He'd forget her as soon as his "job" was done, right? 

"Um... You okay?" He asked, causing her to jolt in her seat. 

"Um... Fuck! Yeah. I'm fine." She said, laughing. 

"You just seem a little distracted. Well you seem a little bored of my fucking life, tell me a bit about yours." 

"I wasn't bored but..." 

"You were. Don't lie." 

"Well you're gonna get bored of mine extremely quickly. I don't do much, you know." 

"I don't know. But like what do you do for a living?" 

"I kinda don't have a steady job. I kinda hop from place to place." She said, deciding to tell him the truth. 

"Oh." 

"Yeah I don't make as much money as you anyway. How much do you charge again?" She said, trying to veer the subject away from her. 

"$160.00 dollars per event or party." 

"Damnnn I better be getting some dick after the party for that price." She didn't realize that the words escaped her mouth until she saw Calvin's face. 

"Oh! Uh, I was only joking about that." She said, laughing. She wanted to curse herself for being such a damn idiot so far. Well, she couldn't help it. She was Brooke Hayes, after all. 

He chuckled. "Yeah. It's fine. You're not the first one to say that." 

Wow. We're really building some great fake chemistry. Everyone is gonna believe that we're in love. 

The rest of their "date" was just as awkward, if not more. Brooke wondered if this was what he always felt, or if it was only this time because it was her. She could even admit it, she was the one that was making it so awkward. 

There was even a silence between them for almost 15 minutes, where neither of them spoke or even looked at each other. Brooke wanted to cut it short at this point. She could've just gotten up and left, she really wanted to, but then she would be back to square one. He didn't have to help her, and she knew he wouldn't chase her if she backed out. So she stayed. 

After they were finished up at the restaurant, they did some walking around the mall. They had tried walking hand in hand, just to see how it felt, but it was uncomfortable for both of them after a few minutes, so they let go of each other's hands and just walked side by side. 

The whole affair seemed to drag out much too long, and Brooke was beyond grateful when it was over, if she was being honest. They had awkwardly hugged and exchanged the cliché "nice to meet you" when they decided that it was time to go home, and then they parted ways. 

Obviously she knew it wasn't the last she would see of him before the party, and she knew that they couldn't go to the party while they were still this awkward, but she didn't care. 

All she wanted to do was get home, lay in bed, and revaluate her life decisions. 

XX 

A/N: yikes sorry that this took so long to get out! 

I don't have much to say tonight, but as always, hope you enjoyed and see you all next time!


	6. 5.

As soon as Brooke went home, she did as planned. She laid on her bed for a bit, thought about how she failed enough to get here in life, and then decided to call Nick. He was always what she went to when she was having a crisis. That's what best friends were for, right? 

"What's up, buttercup?" Nick said once he picked up. 

"Buttercup? Who are you and what did you do with Nick?" Brooke responded, laughing. 

"Bitch, shut the fuck up." 

"Much better. Now, what I called you for. I'm kinda having a problem." 

"What else is new? You're always getting yourself into something. What is it now?" 

"It's just... I went on a... Uh... date with that guy. You know, the rental boyfriend one." 

"Oh my god. What did you do wrong? Brooke, I love you, but you always find a way to fuck everything." 

"Thanks. And it wasn't that I did anything wrong, although I did say something that may have weirded him out..." 

"And what would that be?" He sounded annoyed, but Brooke knew he was seconds from laughing his ass off. 

"We were talking about his prices and I said for prices that high I should be getting dick afterwards." 

Nick began to crack up on the other end, for a solid minute or two. "Why are you like this, I don't think I'll ever get it." 

"It wasn't that funny Nick, calm down." 

"You're just saying that because you embarrassed yourself saying that." 

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up." 

"But what else went wrong?" 

"I feel like... We won't be able to fake anything." 

"What?" 

"We're not gonna be able to fake any chemistry, Nick. There's nothing between us. It's just fucking awkward." 

"Brooke, you really haven't done much serious dating have you?" 

"What does that have to with anything?" 

"Don't get sassy with me. It has everything to do with it. Listen. And listen good. Even real couples go through that. The first date is always awkward. No matter who you are." 

"Yeah, right. Listen, even if that is the case, we don't have time for that. My mom will be able to see that we're not really into each other and assume it's my fault, I know it." 

"Woah, slow down. Your mom isn't gonna say shit. You have a boyfriend, isn't that enough for her?" 

"Hell no. You know my mom, do you really think she'll not take up a chance to embarrass me?" Brooke could already hear her mother now. She knew she would be talking about how even her daughter's own boyfriend didn't want her around. It may sound quite ridiculous, but that was her mother in a nutshell. 

"You'll be fine. You have nine days anyway, what are you worried about? Hang out with him a few more times, there's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. Don't stress." 

"You're right. I'm just overreacting. Like I always do." 

"Not your fault your mom is a complete and total bitch." 

She shrugged, even though he couldn't see her. "I guess you're right. But thanks. You know, for being my moral support." 

"I'll always be here. You know that. Don't stress too much. You'll figure it out with that guy. What's his name?" 

"Calvin." 

"Calvin. What would be your ship name? Bralvin?" 

"Oh my Lord. Nick, shut up." 

"Make me. Oh, and I forgot to ask. Is he cute at all?" 

"Yeah..." 

"You take any pics?" 

"No. Why would I do that? That's just fucking creepy." 

"I'm just saying, it sounds like something you'd do. Didn't you take pictures of the guy you used to like back in high school? Jared?" 

"No. Don't bring that up. I was a horny teenager back then." She cringed at the thought of how she acted as a teenager. She couldn't believe that at one point love was something that she had wanted and that she was stupid enough to chase around a boy. Her mother had sort of made her that way, and she was glad she grew out of it. 

"I'm just saying." 

"I'm glad I grew out of that phase." 

"Brooke, I hope you know that love isn't as bad as you think." 

"I never said it was bad. I'd just rather not." 

"One day, you might though." 

"You sound like my mom, ugh." 

"I'm not saying you have to have a relationship to live. I'm just saying, sometimes you have to look at other possibilities." 

"Maybe someday." 

"Well, I guess I'll leave you alone now. Go call Calvin and get things sorted out with him." 

"Eh, I'm good." 

"Brooke, you literally put everything off. Do you wanna make it believable or not? Get to know him some more. Have deep conversations. Just do something." 

"Yeah, yeah. I will. Soon." 

"Good. You better." He said, then he hung up. 

She wanted to follow his advice and call Calvin right away, but she also just wanted to lay on her bed with her trusty friend Vodka by her side. 

You can probably guess which one she chose. She put her phone on the nightstand by her bed, went to her kitchen to get her bottle. She went back into her room, sat on the bed, and took a swig straight from the bottle. 

"Fuck love. Oh, and fuck my mom." She said, raising the bottle in the air. 

XX 

A/N: sorry that this was primarily dialogue. Hope it wasn't too crappy . 

Thanks for reading!


	7. 6.

A/N: my name is Ashleigh and I'm so horrible at updating so when I do I write a whole paragraph A/N of me apologizing to make up for the fact that I'm a unmotivated and lazy piece of shit HUHHH 

XX

9 days until Christmas...

Once she was drunk enough, Brooke decided to call Calvin. She didn't trust her drunk self, but her sober self was awkward and would have no clue what to say. 

It wasn't exactly a conscious decision, since she was under the influence, but she dialed his number anyway. 

She didn't even know why exactly this mattered so much to her. She didn't want her mother to have any suspicions about this whole thing, since telling her over the phone was already awkward. She probably knew that Brooke was lying because of that, but it was worth a try. She was going with a guy that nobody in her entire family knew, so she was going that she would be able to play it off well. 

"Hello?" Calvin asked when he picked up, she could hear the confusion in his voice. 

"Heyyyy." She slurred, dragging out her 'y'. 

"What the fuck? What are you doing?" 

"It's Brooke, remember me?" 

He had no clue why she was calling him. She was obviously drunk off her ass, but he still didn't have a clue why he was the first one she called. 

She wouldn't be one of those girls, would she? She wouldn't be the type to think that since he was "dating" her it meant that he loved her, right? He hoped not. The last thing he needed was someone who was clingy. 

"Yeah, I do remember you. Why wouldn't I?" He chuckled. 

"I dunno. Just making sure." 

Okay. She was really drunk. 

"So what's up? Why'd you call?" He decided to ask, getting straight to the point. 

"I um..." She paused for a few seconds before answering. "I wanted to get to know you better. You know, if we're gonna fake date-" 

Calvin would be lying if he said he wasn't used to girls acting like this. The ones that did this and asked him these questions were his least favorite clients, simply because it was hard to get rid of them. A few times before, his clients had asked if they could "keep in touch", and Calvin had said yes, but did he return their calls? No. Did he ever text first? No. They simply faded from his life. He didn't want to mix anything personal into his job. He let out a sigh. He has to let this girl know that. 

"You know I'm not here for love right? I'm here to pretend to be your boyfriend, and that's it." He told her. Sure, it sounded sort of harsh. But he just had to put it out there. He was here for the money that he could get. Not for love. 

"Woah... woah. Okay, dude. I know that. I don't need a lecture." 

Did she just call me dude? "I'm just saying. I've just had several girls in the past say that they wanted this to go beyond my job, and I don't want that." 

"All I wanted to was get to know you better, Jesus. I never said we had to date for real. I just wanted to talk a bit more." 

Calvin stayed silent for quite a few seconds, unsure of what to say. Her words were barely audible, but he could tell that what he had told her had sort of offended her. "I uh... I was just making sure you knew. Some girls kinda get carried away and think that-"

"Listen, I'll call when you're in less of a pissy mood." She said, and then hung up abruptly. 

Calvin sighed. She was different from other clients he had, to say the least. Sure, he had dealt with girls that had the hots for him even after the job was done and attempted to make him fall for them, but this was something new. A girl calling him while she was drunk? 

She probably wasn't thinking and had just done it on impulse, but he still didn't know what to make of it. 

He decided not to think about it at the moment, he had dealt with girls like this before and he would have to deal with it again. He would just have to push away any "extra" affection she tried to give him, and hope she got the idea. 

He would worry about that later, though. Instead, he turned on his computer. He stared at the screen for few seconds before opening a tab. 

He went to the one place that gave him the best memories, both good and bad. 

YouTube. 

He often wished he could bring all of it back, even the bad things. He wished he could turn back time(A/N: please don't) and change things that had happened. 

Out of habit, he tried to put in his log in. He couldn't help it. It was like this everyday. Even if he knew damn well that his channel was gone. 

It was so pathetic. He didn't even know why he bothered going on this website anymore, doing so always ended in disappointment. 

Everyone had always asked him why he never made another channel. The answer was, he had made too many mistakes and it just wouldn't be fun anymore. People knew who he was and what he did, and he had lost virtually all of his fans' respect. 

He had lost so much. His channel. His fans. His job. And now he was stuck doing this. It was almost like a bad dream. He wished that it was. 

"Stop." He told himself, cursing under his breath. He had no clue why this was an everyday thing now. It was over. He shouldn't worry anymore about it. He had to forget about it. He was gonna make some money and then go to college and find another career to pursue. 

It was funny how one stupid thing could change your life forever... 

"Shut up. Stop thinking." He said to himself, feeling stupid that he felt the need to do so. Not that talking to himself was going to do much anyway, but who else was there to talk to anymore. 

He shut off his computer, not knowing why he even went on it in the first place. He sometimes wanted to smash it up against the wall, or even sell it, but he kept it in hopes that things would go back to what they once were. 

He knew that time wasn't coming anytime soon. 

XX 

A/N: hmm the recent drama gave me some ideas as to the backstory of Leafy's channel in the story. hmmm

Speaking of the drama, I don't know if you guys saw, but a few days I posted a message pertaining to it. It wasn't just about the drama though, just about Calvin in general. 

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and see all of you in the next one! 

Love you all!


	8. 7.

A/N: so apparently Brooke has the same name as some Littlest Pet Shop character... I had no clue what y'all were talking about so I looked it up and sure enough... you guys were right. 

And to make it even better, it's a fucking cat lmaoo 

 

Now I can't help but see this shit when I'm writing this story wtf help 

I never knew that these little shits had names? I used to collect them and I had most of them, and I always gave them my own names. I'm such a fake fan smh

Anywayyy, enough of that, let's get roiiiiight into the story. 

(Haha what a dead meme) 

XX 

8 days until Christmas... 

Jingle bells! 

Jingle bells! 

Jingle all the way! 

Oh what fun it is to ride- 

"Your daddy's dick! Hey!" Brooke sang over the music, feeling annoyed. The music rang throughout her ears, making her head hurt even more than it already was. 

"Oh, shut up." She mumbled, shutting the music off before it could keep going. 

If there was anything worse than Christmas music, she still had yet to find it. 

Her head was already pounding out of her skull as it was, and the sappy music coming from the radio was not helping in the least. She already hated it, but her current headache made it even more aggravating to listen to. 

She remembered calling Calvin last night, but she had forgotten what had been said. She was hoping she hadn't embarrassed herself, but had a feeling that she had done just that. 

"Shit." She said to herself. She always managed to find a way to make herself look like a complete moron with everything she did. After their little "date" the other day, she could only imagine what she had said to him on the phone. 

"I need to stop drinking." She said, messaging her throbbing temple with her hand. It was something she said everyday, but she knew damn well that it wasn't true. 

It was a bad habit, a really bad habit, but at this point it couldn't really be stopped. 

She was torn away from her thoughts when her phone rang. 

Without even checking the caller ID, she answered it and snapped "what do you want?" 

"Woah, woah, woah. I know you're not getting that attitude with me missy." 

It was Nick. "Oh hi Nick. I didn't know who you were." She said, chuckling. 

"Well you know now. What's got you all angry?" 

"Nothing, just a hangover." 

"What else is new?" 

"I'm not even gonna try and argue that one with you." 

"You know what they say. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem." 

"You and me both know that I ain't recovering anytime soon." 

"Brooke. Don't be like that. I know we joke about it a lot, you'll recover soon enough." 

Drinking was her escape, but it wasn't like it was that serious, right? She wasn't a major drinker, she just did it whenever she was feeling sad. Or mad. Or just whenever she felt like it. But it didn't affect her that much, right? Right? It wasn't as if she needed help or anything of the sort. 

"Yeah, not before I keep making dumbass mistakes." 

"Oh god... you did something last night didn't you?" 

"I... I think?" It was more of a question than an answer. 

"What do you mean you 'think'?" 

"Exactly what I said. I think I did something but I don't know exactly what. That's what happens when you're drunk, I guess." 

"What do you think you did?" 

"I called Calvin. While I was drunk. And I don't know what I said, but it was probably something stupid." 

"You're back at it again, huh?" 

"Shut up." 

Nick chuckled. "Sorry. You know what I say? I say hang up with me and call him right now." 

"Are you joking? I can't face him." 

"Well, you're gonna have to on Christmas... whether you like it or not. Might as well talk to him." 

Brooke let out a sigh of annoyance. "Yeah, but what am I gonna say?" 

"Just tell him that whatever was said last night was stuff you didn't mean, no matter what it was. And that you're sorry for bothering him. God, you're so fucking bad at this." 

"You're telling me." Brooke laughed, but she wanted to die. This was already going horribly, and the Christmas party hadn't even happened yet. She was messing up left and right. Maybe she shouldn't bother him until Christmas Day, it'd be much easier that way. 

"Well... you gonna call him or not?" 

"Yep." She lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. She was going to call, just not yet. 

"Okay. You go do that then, call me back when you're done." 

"Yeah, yeah. I will." She told him, hanging up. Soon as she did, she shouted "Sike!" and shut her phone off. 

She would call him, she supposed she had to. Just to clear things up. But she wouldn't hang out with him or anything like she had planned before. That was overly clingy. He was just a rental. 

After god knows how long of just sitting around  and doing nothing, she decided it was maybe time to call him. 

She turned her phone on to see a vast array of messages from Nick, but she decided that she would work on answering him after she did this. 

She dialed Calvin's number, listened to the ring ring ring for the few seconds until he picked up. 

"Um hi?" He asked, sounding confused. "How did you figure that I was in a better mood?" 

Now it was her turn to sound confused. "What? What is that supposed to mean?" 

"You were going to call me back when I was in less of a 'pissy' mood, remember?" 

"Yeah... well I don't know what the hell you're talking about but listen. I got piss drunk last night and I know that I probably said some erm... strange things, but whatever was said was the product of me and alcohol and no matter how weird it was, I didn't mean any of it." 

"You didn't really say anything that horrible... just that you wanted to 'get to know me better', whatever the fuck that means." 

"Well I mean that's not a complete lie. I'm just really awkward and just figured that if we were gonna impress my family we could at least talk a little more you know? I mean we don't have to but..." 

"Look. I gotta go. I kinda have a job tonight. That's why this is a weird time. Sorry. See you around. Bye." 

"'See you around. Bye.'" 

Yikes. 

She had made a fool of herself yet again.


	9. 8.

A/N: y'all I'm so sorry for the almost two month wait for this chapter, I don't know why I kinda abandoned this story. But I'll try and write as much as I can now, since this is one of my personal fav stories that I've written :).

But yeah anyway, enjoy the chapter !!

XX

This whole situation was beyond odd for Calvin. Brooke in general was strange to him, since she was unlike anyone he had ever done business with.

He had thought about her when he went on his job that night after their phone call, wondering just what her problem was.

But then, when he had gotten home that night, he had called her back. And he decided that he would take her up on her little offer, maybe then she would stop talking about the whole thing.

And then maybe he could charge her a little extra as well... maybe it wasn't all that bad just to go out and pretend to care about learning about her, when the next day he would be with another girl. But he would do it. He would hang out with her for a bit.

Maybe it would be a nice change, and depending on whether it went bad or good like last time they went on a "date", maybe Calvin wouldn't have to put on a fake smile. Maybe he would actually have fun, even if he wasn't doing it to "get to know her better".

The arcade that was nearby. That was where they were going. Calvin was relieved that at least it wasn't a fancy dinner place or something, since he wanted to just have a bit of fun. Plus, they didn't even have to spend the whole time together. They could do their own things for a few hours, and then just leave.

When he arrived there, she was waiting for him just as she had said she was, and he couldn't help but mentally note that she looked nice. She looked casual, but at the same time, sort of cute.

He shook the thoughts from his head and approached her and gave her a quick hello, to which she smirked and said "you ready to go in?"

He gave her and nod and they walked in.

The arcade was a pretty big place, you know, for an arcade. Wall after wall filled with many different games: shooters, games where you could win prizes like stuffed animals and toys, the classics... if you wanted a game, it was probably somewhere there.

Brooke looked around in awe of the place. She felt yet another wave of nostalgia while standing there, feeling like a kid again. She had always loved arcades. Her mother, of course, was not too fond of the activity as it involved playing video games, and well... videos games were "too boyish". Brooke didn't know where the idea had come from, since many boys and girls alike were playing games in the arcade, but she had always seen it as yet another one of her faults. 

"Wow... this place is really cool." She said, channeling her inner child. She wasn't intending to say it to anyone but herself, but Calvin heard her and answered. 

He chuckled. "Someone's excited. You've never been to an arcade before?" 

She scoffed. "Of course I have. I just haven't been for a long time... and I just like it is all." She shrugged and walked over to the pacman machine. She looked at it for a few seconds before turning away and walking over to the machine in the far corner of the room. 

"We need coins." She said, taking out her wallet and shoving somebills into the machine, and a few seconds later quarters came tumbling out. 

Calvin went to do the same, but Brooke stopped him. 

"You can use mine." She told him, giving him a handful of quarters. 

"You don't have to..." 

"Just shut up and let's go play some games, shall we?" 

Calvin followed Brooke over towards what looked like a box, but apparently it was a horror shooter game once you went inside. 

The two waited for the kids that were currently playing to come out, and once they did, Brooke and Calvin went inside. 

They inserted their coins and grabbed the guns. 

The game started off with a jump scare. Calvin flew about a mile, but Brooke stayed stationary. 

She chuckled at how scared Calvin got. 

"Shut up." He told her, trying to play it off and continue on with the game. 

Boom! 

Pow! 

Between the gunshots and jumpscares, they got lost in the game. They were screaming at each other about it as well. 

"You suck!" Brooke shouted at him. "I'm literally getting all of the kills here." 

"Shut the fuck up!" Calvin shouted back at her, eyes glued to the game. 

"Make me." 

"Oh I will." 

"Whatever, even if you do, it doesn't change that you suck." 

"And you swallow."

"Oh wow what a great comeback." Brooke said sarcastically, laughing and rolling her eyes.

A kid peeked inside at them, but they scared him off when they shouted "GO AWAY THIS GAME IS OCCUPIED!" in unison. They adverted their eyes from the game for a split second, looked at each other, and began to crack up.

After a few minutes more of playing, the screen suddenly flashed, saying "insert coins to play more!"

Brooke went to go reach for her coins, but Calvin stopped her. "Let's go play something else." He told her, and gave him a glare before stepping out with him. 

She walked over to one of the crane machines, and looked back at Calvin. "Win me one." She told him, and he began to laugh.

"Win yourself one."

"No, you're the boyfriend here. And I say win me one."

He rolled his eyes. "Doesn't matter what I am, I suck at that game and won't win you anyhting anyway."

"Come on." She said, putting some coins into his hand. "Just try a couple times." 

"If you want one so bad why don't you-"

"Because I've never won this game before in my life. And I don't want to waste our coins. But I want one of those stuffed animals."

"Whatever." He said. He put his coins in and on his first try he won a small zebra stuffed animal.

On his second try(they gave you two), he won again. This time it was a dog.

"Yeah, you totally suck." Brooke said as he handed her the prizes. "Thanks." She said, giving him a smile. 

He smiled back. "Yeah, no problem."

They continued playing games for who knows how long, and then it began to get late. One of the workers who helped out with things told them that the place was closing in a half hour and that they should head out soon.

They decided that they would just leave right then. 

Calvin couldn't believe that he had spent the whole day there. The oddest part was, he had fun. Wasn't that just crazy?

Brooke hugged him and told him goodbye, and he watched as she walked over to her car and got in.

Maybe she wasn't so odd after all.

 

XX

 

 

A/N: i feel like i really lacked details in this chapter yikes

this is unedited so sorry for any errors 

thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, love you all!!


	10. 9.

Brooke was surprised at how much fun she had with Calvin, to say the least. She was expecting awkward, just like their "first date". But it was much different this time. 

She had felt a little shy and nervous, yes, but it all faded once she and Calvin had started to play games and actually have fun. 

If she was being honest, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She knew it was cheesy, but it was the most fun she'd had in awhile without downing dangerous amounts of alcohol. 

He was sort of fun to be with, and she was starting to get comfortable with being around him. Which was good. You know, for fake dating. 

But having all of that fun made her wonder: was the feeling that she had felt with him what it was really like to actually date and have fun with someone? 

All of her relationships, like most of her life, were a disaster, and she never liked the idea of relationships because of it. They made her think that all "love" was was just a drag and a waste of time, but if that fun that she had was what was supposed to happen, maybe she now understood all of the hype. 

But she wasn't even dating him. How could she have more fun with a fake boyfriend then someone that she actually dated? It didn't make sense, but she wasn't going to dwell on it. For now at least. 

It was less than a week until Christmas, and if she was going to go to a party with her family, she would have to do the thing that people dreaded most: shopping. Not only did she NOT want to go into a crowded store and spend most of her day there, she didn't want to get gifts for people she didn't even know, and that didn't even care about her. 

Her first impulse was to call Nick, and so she did. 

"Hey Nick, I need some help." She said as soon as he picked up. 

"Oh. Um, what's wrong? Is it bad?" Nick could tell she was a bit on the edge, and he wondered why. 

"Kinda." 

"Then spill." 

"Well you see I kinda have to go Christmas shopping..." She began, but Nick interrupted her sentence with his laughter. 

"You've never been Christmas shopping?" 

"I mean not really... I kind of want to maybe go out this time, you know?" 

"Sweetheart, trust me. It's not fun. Not at all. Especially since there will be tons of people there just like you, shopping at the last minute." 

"My mom would sometimes wait until the last night to get my gift for me." It was true, it had taken awhile, but Brooke had figured out her mother's strategy for going out the last night, she would tell Brooke that the house had to be rid of grown ups so Santa could come, when really she just had to go shopping for some half assed gift. The apple didn't fall far from the tree, it seemed. 

"Listen Brooke I would love to help you out with shopping, but I kinda have stuff to do for myself, you know? Just shop online." 

"Most things are out of stock and won't even get here in time. So I have no other choice. Ugh. And now I'm going to be all alone." 

"Why don't you ask your little boyfriend to help you out. I'm sure he'd love to." 

Brooke chuckled. "Yeah, okay. Let's remember he's a fake boyfriend and nothing more, plus me and him just hung out, don't you think he'll find that a little weird that I want to go shopping with him?" 

"I was just giving you a suggestion, you don't have to take it. You're the one that didn't want to shop alone, I was just saying." 

"Maybe I should. I mean, I am pretty desperate and I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do by myself. Buttt, he doesn't even really seem like the shopping type. But I'll try and ask him." 

"Do it then. Just remember, it's the third date, we know what that means." Nick gave a chuckle. 

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Shut the fuck up, Nick. I'm not going to suck his dick because he went shopping with me." 

"I mean... it's not the worst idea there is. He probably won't dread shopping as much, you know? I mean, I would do even things I hate with someone that sucked my dick." 

"Oh my fucking god." Brooke laughed out loud. 

"I mean, would you not do the same for someone who gave you head? Seriously." 

She laughed again. "I'm not talking about this anymore. Thanks for the advice, I'm going to try and call him." 

"Good luck with that one. Talk to you later I guess. Bye." 

"Bye." Brooke said, hanging up. She didn't know why she was even contemplating doing this. He probably thought she was clingy, way too clingy to be one of his customers. 

"Ah. Whatever." She told herself, and dialed his number on her phone. 

"Yo." 

"Hey." 

"What's up?" He asked. He didn't seem annoyed, or anything of the sort, which made her feel a bit better about doing this. 

"I know we kinda just hung out and stuff but I was wondering if you wanted to... you know.. hang out again?" She didn't know why she was so nervous, if he says no, he says no and that was that. She would just go out alone. At least that's what she tried telling herself. 

He took a few seconds to respond. "Uh... I mean, sure. But what do you want to do?" 

"This is gonna sound really sad." She gave a chuckle before continuing. "I kinda need someone to help me with holiday shopping." 

"I relate a shit ton." He said, chuckling. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who hasn't done shopping. But I probably won't be of much help to you." 

"Oh, well. It was worth a try." She let out a small laugh. 

"We can still go if you want, and see if we can figure out some stuff together. You know, a bunch of procrastinating idiots in a crowded mall, sounds fun." 

"It does sound fun. What time are you thinking?" She couldn't believe he had agreed to this so easily. She was relieved for two reasons. First, now she'd actually have someone to shop with. Second... we'll she wouldn't admit it but there was a part of her that was excited to see him again, since he was actually a fun person. There was just a part of her that enjoyed his presence, it was weird but she did. 

"Whenever you want, I guess." 

"How about an hour then?" She asked. 

"Yeah, sure. See you then." He said, and then the line went dead. 

XX 

A/N: hi guys! hope you enjoyed the chapter, I know it was filler-y and kinda ended abrupt but don't worry the next one is already in progress! it might take awhile for me to actually post, since this is my last month of school and S T R E S S. 

Anyway, I got a few questions for y'all. How do you think Christmas shopping is gonna go? What will happen, anything special? 

Also, who do you guys think Brooke's face claim should be? I have a few ideas on who it could be, but I really want to hear what you guys think and see if we think the same or different. Who knows, you guys might have a better ideas than me. 

So anyway, let me know what you guys think, and thanks for reading! Love you all lots. 

Remember; take care of yourselves. Did you drink today? Did you eat? Did you get enough sleep? If you said no to any of those, please make sure you do those things. It's okay. Whatever happened today, tomorrow is another day and another chance. Don't be sad, you're strong.


	11. 10.

"Red?" 

"No, not red." 

"Green?" 

"Hell no, definitely not green." 

"Pink?" 

"Hm, maybe." 

Brooke's eyes widened at her image in the mirror as she realized what she was doing. Was she really struggling to pick a lipstick when all she was doing was going out Christmas shopping... 

With a guy. She was going with a guy. 

But why would that matter? Why was it mattering so much to her? 

Pulling a tissue from the box, she wiped the makeup off of her lips. 

"Clear. You know what? We're just gonna go with clear." She told herself, pulling a clear gloss out of her bag and applying it. 

She normally looked messy and unkept, but she could look nice if she wanted to, and as of now, she did. She didn't know what had motivated her to fix herself up, but she had done so for the first time in a long time. 

She decided that she was done with getting ready, and checked her phone. She had told Calvin an hour, but it had been a bit longer than that. Sure enough, Calvin had texted her. 

Calvin: hey, you there? You almost ready to go? 

Brooke: yea sorry I took so long haha, I just took a shower and stuff. 

Calvin: it's all good. Are we meeting there or? 

Brooke: if you don't mind, could I get a ride? It would be a lot easier that way, you know? 

Calvin: okay. that's fine by me. just let me know where you are and I'll be there. 

Brooke sent him the location of the street corner nearest to her house, and then she grabbed her purse and such and headed outside to wait for him. 

It was weird how quickly she and Calvin had become friends, and she wondered if he was this friendly with any of his other clients. 

She waited for him to pull up, scrolling mindlessly through her social media feeds. As she was doing so, a text from Nick popped up. 

Nick: heyyy 

Brooke: hiii 

Nick: so 

Nick: you going shopping with him? 

Brooke: ... yes. I am. 

Nick: told you ;) 

Brooke: shut up.

Right after she had sent that text, she looked up and saw Calvin pull up. She locked her phone and walked up to his car, opening the door and climbing in. 

His car was messy, with cans and fast food wrappers thrown all over the floor. Not that it bothered her, considering her house was the same way. 

"Hey." She said, breaking the silence that had already hung over the both of them. She had to admit, even if things were still awkward between them, they were definitely starting to ease up a bit. 

"Yo." He replied back, clicking on the radio. As expected, Christmas music blared through the speakers. 

"Jesus fucking Christ. Can you reach back there and get me my CD case? It should be in the seat directly behind you." 

Brooke chuckled and did as he said, reaching behind her and retrieving the case. She handed it to him. 

"I don't know if you'll like my music, but let's give it a try." He said, shrugging and putting a CD in. 

"Hey, I'm always down for new things." 

The music that played was something that she did not recognize at all, but it wasn't bad. She felt herself swaying her head to the music as they drove. 

"You like it?" He asked, looking over at her and laughing. 

"Yeah, I don't normally listen to this type of music, you're right, but I kinda like it." 

"I could tell you some of the artists and stuff if you want to listen to more. Just remind me and I'll text you the recommendations later or something." 

"That sounds good. I'll try and remember." 

The rest of the ride was surprisingly pleasant. The two didn't talk much, but nothing was awkward as they were listening to the music. 

Calvin would sometimes occasionally sing along to the music, but would stop after a few seconds, and burst into laughter. 

When they arrived at the mall, both of them let out a loud sigh at the same exact time. As soon as they did, they began to laugh hysterically. 

"Well, I guess we're both ecstatic about this." Brooke said, turning towards Calvin and smirking. 

Calvin smirked back, and they proceeded to get out of the car. 

They walked into the mall side by side, and as expected, the place was packed. Groups and groups of people were cluttered everywhere. Some of them looked helplessly stuck. 

Calvin and Brooke looked around them in horror. 

"Oh, lord." Brooke said to herself, but apparently she was loud enough for Calvin to hear, because he replied "I know, right?" 

"You know, this was a bad idea. I don't need to get my family anything." Brooke said, chuckling nervously as she pushed past a group of people. 

"Yeah, I agree with you there. But we're here now, nothing we can fucking do." 

Brooke shrugged and tried to stay as close to him as she could when they were walking. "Where are we gonna go first?" 

"I don't know. What were thinking about getting?" 

"I don't even know. Let's just go to the place where it's least crowded. I don't know." 

"I know as much as you. Let's just look around." 

They were both clueless and it was quite humorous. It didn't help that Brooke knew nothing about what she was even buying. 

"Hey, how about candles? I mean isn't that like a go-to gift or something?" Calvin suggested, and Brooke agreed so they headed towards the candle shop. 

The shop was really small, the walls lined with candle after candle. And as suspected, it was packed. People buying candles, picking them up and smelling them. 

Brooke sighed. "Well, this is going to be great." 

She and Calvin made their way into the shop, and immediately began to look around. 

"You know," Brooke said to Calvin as she picked up a candle to test it's scent, "I was never big on gifts. It's probably because I never really got many, but I just didn't find them as important and as big of a deal as some people do." 

"Yeah, I get what you mean. I got gifts but they just weren't all that exciting to me. Christmas was never my thing." 

"Agreed." Brooke said, as she opened a candle a took a whiff. She was greeted with a sweet and beautiful smell, one that sort of reminded her of her childhood, but she didn't want to think of that. 

"Wow. These actually... smell really good." Calvin commented, turning the candle he was holding over so he could read the price label. "30 dollars? And this is what people buy each of their family members? Lord." 

"I agree. But hey, it says right here that they give you  110-120 hours of fragrance." Brooke said, and as soon as she did, she burst into laughter, and Calvin chuckled as well. 

"Let's just grab some and get out because it's starting to get really crowded and I don't feel like pushing people just to get some damn candles." 

Brooke agreed and they grabbed some of the candles off the "signature scents" shelf, and stood in the line to cash out. It was extremely long. 

"How much do you think we spent?" Brooke asked, looking at the candles they were holding. 

"Probably not much." Calvin said, shrugging. 

XX

"Your total is two hundred and fifty dollars." The young teenaged cashier said, smiling up at the two adults standing in front of him as if it was nothing. 

Brooke and Calvin's jaws dropped in unison, and the cashier chuckled awkwardly. 

"I'll pay." Brooke said to break the awkwardness between them, but Calvin immediately argued. 

"No, I can." He offered, and Brooke shook her head. 

"Why don't we split it. It's gifts for both of our families." She said, and pulled out her purse. She took out a one hundred dollar bill, and twenty, and a five. 

Calvin pulled out his wallet and did the same, and they gave the money to the cashier. He smiled at them, said "Thanks for shopping with us!", and handed them their bags. 

"Well, that was something else." Brooke said as they walked out of the shop's exit, a loud sigh escaping her lips.  

"Yeah, and we just went through a shit ton of money." 

Brooke stopped waking and didn't respond to him. She was looking at something. Calvin followed her eyes, and saw what she was looking at... 

It was Billy Beez. 

"Are you serious what are you-" 

"I want to go!" Brooke said, and Calvin laughed. He supposed he had to take charge of her. 

"No, we're here to shop. We can uh... we'll come back soon, I promise." He wasn't going to lie, he wanted to go in there as much as she did, but they had to finish what they had come here to do. 

"Aw! Fine." She said, huffing. "We'll shop." 

"Don't throw a fit in here. I'm not your father. I am not here to take care of you." He said, and he sounded dead serious, and it made Brooke burst out into laughter in the middle of the mall, in front of everyone. 

"So, where are we off to next, dad?" Brooke asked as soon as her laughing fit was over. 

Calvin rolled his eyes. "Wherever you want to go, daughter." 

Even if the mall was crowded and horrible, Brooke still felt herself having fun. People in the mall kept looking at her and Calvin as they walked around and joked with each other like idiots, and they found it quite hilarious. 

They went to a few more stores, sometimes buying things, and other times just looking at things that they wished they had. They hoped that what they were getting would satisfy the people they were getting them for(Calvin had a better idea than Brooke, she was just clueless since she hardly knew her family). 

More than once, people in the stores and shops mistook the two for a couple, and they just chuckled and brushed it off. It was good, they were getting convincing it seemed. 

They got food, just some chicken tenders and burgers from one of the cheap places in the mall, but they ate it on the go so they didn't have to stop their shopping spree. 

After a few hours, the stores were beginning to close down, so it was time to leave. They looked at the bags in their hands, not even wanting to imagine how much they spent. 

"Thanks." They both told each other at the same when they got back in Calvin's car. 

"That was... not as bad as expected. Still horrible though." Brooke said, and Calvin gave a chuckle in agreement. 

He drove her home, and she gave another thank you as she grabbed her bags and got out of the car. 

She watched him drive away, her bags in hand, already missing him for some odd reason that she couldn't figure out for the life of her. 

XX 

A/N: hey! this took forever, I'm so sorry. But I think I'm going to make chapters longer now, which is good! 

Can y'all believe that in a month it'll be a year since I've been writing this? It's crazy oh my god. 

The place mentioned(Billy Beez) is an actual place, and it's amazing lmao. Maybe I'll have Brooke and Calvin go there (I don't own or have any affiliation with it btw lmao), who knows??? We'll just have to see. 

Anywayssss, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks so much for reading and sticking with me! Have a great day/night!


	12. 11

"Wrapping sucks ass!" Brooke exclaimed to nobody in particular, throwing down the colorful and decorated paper that she had in her hands. She was attempting to wrap a candle. This shouldn't be so hard for her, she seen people wrapping things all of the time. She thought it couldn't be too bad, turns out she was dead wrong. 

Closing the YouTube tab that she had open(she was watching wrapping tutorials, knowing damn well that it was pathetic, but you had to do what you had to do, right?), she opened up her contacts. Letting out a sigh, she clicked on Nick's number. 

It only took two rings for him to pick up. 

"NICK!" She shouted into the phone. This was a true emergency. 

"WHAT THE HELL WHY ARE YOU FUCKING YELLING? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?" He yelled back to her, and Brooke felt like she was going to lose her hearing. 

She decided to lower her voice. "I'm having a crisis." 

"Aren't you always? I swear Brooke, you are just always having problems. I feel like I say this every single time we get on the phone. I'm here to help though. What's up?" 

"I'm having trouble wrapping my damn gifts. I hate this shit. I'm about to get the alcohol in a second." 

Nick let out a laugh. "I swear, you and Christmas don't get along at ALL." 

"Well not shit, Sherlock. Now do you know how to do this?" 

"Of course I do, Brooke. It's basic. You literally wrap gifts for my birthday. Why can't you do it now?" 

"I don't wrap shit. I literally throw it into a bag, and stuff paper in there. I don't know if you would call that wrapping, but if you do, I guess I'm a pro." 

Nick let out a laugh again. "Ah, yeah true. And whenever you did wrap gifts for someone I always helped. I guess that's what I'm supposed to do next, isn't it?" 

"Yeah, genius." 

"Why don't you ask your new boyfriend? You two seem to do everything together now." He teased, and he was sure that if he could see her, her cheeks would be red. 

"I'm not gonna invite him over to wrap gifts. That's a little too far. You're insane. I think he and I have done enough... bonding." 

"Mhm. Bonding, interesting word choice." 

"Fuck off." Brooke said, letting out a chuckle of her own. "You're a fucking dog." 

"At least I'm honest." 

"Just get your ass over here before I come to you and beat it." 

"You wouldn't. But I'm on my way." 

XX 

Brooke did know how to wrap. She wasn't the neatest, hence the YouTube tutorials, but truth was, she was too lazy to do it all alone. And she didn't want to be lonely while doing this, because she knew if she was, she would get frustrated and turn to alcohol. 

She had thought about calling Calvin. She really did. She wasn't going to lie, she enjoyed his company. But at this point, calling him would be overkill. She wasn't going to do it anymore. Maybe she would text him here and there, but she wouldn't overdo it. 

She waited for Nick to arrive, taking out all of the gifts she had bought at her little mall trip and arranging them. 

"Damn, this really is a lot of SHIT." She said to herself, sighing but then letting out a little chuckle. At the mall she wondered just how she spent so much, she supposed she knew now. Her family had better be happy with all of this. 

She plugged in her headphones and opened Spotify and listened to her playlist for a few minutes, until she heard the doorbell ring. She pulled out her headphones and ran to answer the door. 

"Hey!" Nick said as she opened the door, and walked inside. 

"Hi." She said in a mellow tone, and Nick already knew something was up. 

"What's wrong? Don't lie because I know something is." 

Brooke let out a deep sigh. "Nothing big. I'm just NOT in the mood to do all of this. You wanna know what's stupid? The fact that my parents close me out of their lives simply because I'm not married or whatever, but then want to always invite me to their stupid parties. Do they expect me to be happy? Because this is the last thing I want to do. I want to spend Christmas like I usually do. You know, where you come over here and we chill, and then I just do my own thing for the rest of the day. Yes, I do find all of the traditions and stuff cheesy, but that's only because I never had any fun. I wish I could have the parties and things all other people do, but with people I actually want to be around. And for now, that's only you." 

"It'll be fine, trust me. Just go there, flaunt around your fake boyfriend for a few hours, and then dip. Just take it easy, you'll be fine. But for now, let's order some pizza and get this gift wrapping over with, don't you agree?" 

"Yeah, I agree." She smiled. Food made everything much better, even this. 

XX 

When the pizza man rung the doorbell, Brooke dropped the candle she was wrapping, causing it to shatter everywhere. 

"Fuck!" She exclaimed. "Nick! Go get the door! Shit, shit, shit." 

Nick scrambled up to go get the pizza, as Brooke tried to sweep all the glass shards into a pile with her hands. Bad idea. 

"Ow!" She said, as glass cut her finger. She sometimes wished that instead of attitude, her parents gave her some brains and common sense. 

She went to go get the broom grabbing some plates and such while she was there, while Nick paid for the food and brought it inside. 

"You know, Brooke," He said as she walked back into the living room, "You at least need a Christmas tree." 

She scoffed. "What would I do with one? I'm clueless, you already know this." 

"Brooke, you literally hang ornaments off branches. I'm just saying, maybe it would make you feel the spirit a bit more." He shrugged. 

"Yeah, no. Not today anyways." She opened the pizza and took out a piece. "I have a question." She stated, before taking a bite. 

"Yeah?" 

"Do you think I should get Calvin a gift? Like I know that I'm already paying him a LOT of fucking money, but I feel like I should get him more just as a thanks for all of this time. I dunno." 

"I mean it's up to you. Like you said, you're paying him. But if you really CARE about him that much..." He smirked at Brooke. 

"Shut up. It's not like that. I just don't wanna seem grateful." 

"Or like a bad girlfriend." 

"Why don't you eat? You know, stuff your face so that you shut the hell up." 

All he responded with was a chuckle. 

XX

A/N: hey pals! Glad you're still here ahaha! Sorry this is so boring and a filler, but we're getting close to the party!! Maybe I'll make it there before Christmas in real life? Who knows. Maybe that'll be my goal. 

I'm still trying to find a face claim for Nick. Since he's based off an actual friend, it's sorta hard to imagine certain people as him, but I'll try! 

I posted an OC book yesterday, and in a little bit I'll be uploading Brooke's profile! You get to learn a bit more about her background plus some fun facts, so check it out if you'd like! 

Sorry for the long note it's been awhile, but hopefully I'll see you all again soon! 

Love you all and thanks for reading!


	13. 12.

A/N: kind of a funny story before we start. 

Curiosity got the absolute best of me, and I checked out that Littlest Pet Shop thing on YouTube that y'all were mentioning because of Brooke's name, and lemme just say it's so funny and I was dying of laughter. Lowkey, I'm waiting for a new episode of it. Don't tell anybody though. ;) 

But yeah, now I know the references that y'all are making and I understand them all completely. 

Now, onto the chapter! 

XX 

"Brooke! Brooke! Brooke!" 

Brooke looked up from where she was sitting, locking eyes with her mother, who was sitting across from her. 

"Yes?" She asked, huffing and looking back down at the magazine that she was reading. 

"Don't give me an attitude missy." 

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I'm not, mom. But why did you say my name three times? Is there something that important?" 

"Yes, Brooke. You do realize Christmas is coming up, right?" 

"Yes. You've told me this every single day since December began." It wasn't an exaggeration. 

"Because you haven't done anything! You didn't help me out for thanksgiving, in fact, you were out with that stupid friend of yours!" 

"Stupid friend? Mom, he's my best friend. He's practically blood to me. You know, since I don't have an ACTUAL sibling." She said, turning the page of the magazine and not looking up. 

"That's not the point. The point is, you don't care about anything else, do you? We know what you do when you leave." 

This caused Brooke to look up. "And what exactly is that?" 

"Oh, come on. Every time you come home, you smell like a cigar bar, AND an actual bar. You can't really hide that, Brooke." 

"You're right. You got me there!" Brooke said, clicking her tongue and pointing to her mother, laughing at herself. 

"This isn't a joke. But we won't dwell on that. You've made it VERY apparent you don't care. But don't you want to help me do SOMETHING? Like wrap gifts? Bake cookies?" 

"Mom, you lost me at 'do something.'" 

It was her mother's turn to roll her eyes. "Brooke." 

"Mom." 

"We're going to be seeing the entire soon, and they're going to realize that you haven't changed at all. I'll tell you right now, you are NOT going there smelling like booze." 

"Oh come on, you act like half of those mother fuckers don't spend their weekends getting blasted and watching reruns of fucking jeopardy. I swear, they all act like I'm the worst person on earth, when I haven't even done anything to them. They act like they're perfect. Woohoo, I drink. You're fine with it. Why do they care?" 

"I'm not fine with it." Her mother gave her a glare. 

"Then why do you let me do it?" 

"Because I ground you with everything, and you still find your ways around things. There's no point." The older woman admitted, shrugging. She wasn't lying. When it came to parenting Brooke, she sort of just... gave up. No matter what she did, Brooke would find a new way to piss her off. It was no use. 

Brooke just shrugged. "So then why are you even bothering to ask me to help with Christmas?" 

"Listen to me. And listen to me good. In the future, you're going to live on your own. You're going to have to cook for yourself, clean for yourself, and all of that. And do you know how soon that is? We already know that you aren't going to college, or doing anything useful. So you at least should know how to care for yourself." 

Brooke did feel insulted by what her mom was saying. She was practically calling her useless. Some people didn't go to college, so what? She sighed. "Mom, I don't know what I want to do with my life." 

"It doesn't matter. You had all of these years to think. And now, it's way too late. You're not going anywhere. At least not for awhile. 

And with those words, Brooke fell apart. She didn't want to cry, so she held her tears. But she couldn't deny that it was all true. 

She frowned and realized that her mother was right. She was useless. She wasn't going to ever go anywhere. And it was her own fault. 

"I'll... how many gifts do we have to wrap? I'll help." Brooke said, her voice shaky. 

Brooke's mom got up and clapped her hands together. "That's my girl!" 

XX 

Brooke's mother was not lying, either. Brooke never went on and do great things. She graduated from high school, and that was her biggest achievement.

She had jobs, of course. But nothing extravagant or brag-worthy. They were simply jobs so that she could pay her rent. 

Even though Brooke was fine with her life, she still regrets that she didn't prove her mother wrong. She had many chances. But instead, she went down the exact path that her mother had said. And her bad habits? They only got worse. 

And worst of all? (At least to her mother.), She was still alone. 

XX 

DING! 

DING! 

DING! 

Brooke woke up to her phone notifications blowing up. She assumed it was Nick at first. 

"I told this bitch I was taking a nap." She chuckled because they always messed with each other like that, but then she looked over to the bottle that was next to her. "Wait. No I didn't." 

She grabbed her phone. She was about to jokingly text Nick back a paragraph telling him to shut up, but as soon as he looked at her lock screen she realized it wasn't him. 

She was put in a group chat. With her family. 

"Jesus." Brooke said, bracing herself. They were talking about the party, and asking for opinions on everything. Food, decorations, all of that. Brooke didn't care at all, but she knew she had to at least text once, since people were asking where she was. She didn't care if they were in the middle of a conversation. 

Brooke: 

Hey 

Mom: 

Oh! There you are! 

Brooke: 

Yeah. I was getting some stuff together. But what's up? 

Aunt Heather: 

Who's this? 

Brooke: 

It's Brooke... 

Aunt Heather: 

Oh. I don't know why I didn't have your number saved! Lol! 

"Yeah, so fucking hilarious." Brooke said to herself. 

Brooke: 

Yeah. Lol. 

Mom: 

So, Brooke, we were talking about food. We're each going to bring something, and we think that you should too. What do you want to do? A dessert? 

Jesus. Now she would have to cook? It was hard enough just getting gifts, now she had to MAKE something too? 

Brooke: 

Yeah. I can make cookies. 

Uncle Steve: 

We're already having lots of cookies! 

Aunt Lily: 

Yeah! You should make cake! I don't think we're having much of that, are we Linda? 

Mom: 

No, we aren't. Are you okay with that Brooke? 

Brooke rolled her eyes, glad they couldn't see her. 

Brooke: 

Yeah. Ofc. 

(She lied.) 

Mom: 

Ofc? 

                                                                  Brooke: 

                               It means of course, mom. 

XX 

"I didn't have time. My boyfriend's family invited me over and I just... ran out of time." 

"As I was going to my car, I dropped it on the ground! I'm sorry." 

"I forgot. I was drinking. Is that the answer you want?" 

Brooke laughed at herself in the mirror. She was practicing what she would say when she showed up empty handed to the party, no cake. 

She heard her phone chime again, but knew it wasn't her family because she muted that group chat. It had to be Nick. 

Again, she was wrong, though. It was fucking Calvin. 

"What the fuck?" She asked herself, opening the message. 

Calvin: 

Look 

Calvin: 

I know this is random but I broke literally more than half of the candles that we bought the other day. 

Brooke chuckled, but still had no idea why he'd be texting her. She knew that it related to her and all, but it just didn't make any sense. 

                                                                  Brooke: 

                          Shit. I broke one the other night when I was wrapping them. What happened?  

Calvin: 

I literally just fucking dropped them. I'm gonna sue. 

                                                                  Brooke: 

                     Lmaooo. Guess what shit I just found out. 

Calvin: 

What? 

                                                                  Brooke: 

                              I have to make a cake for my family's Christmas party. You know, the one we're going to.  

Calvin: 

Shit. Man, I would offer but I don't know jack shit about making anything. 

She hadn't even thought about it that way, but was glad, because he couldn't have done it anyway. 

                                                                  Brooke: 

                          Same. I'm about to just buy one. I can't even make one from a box. 

Calvin: 

Well, whatever you plan to do, I'll be there to defend your case. 

                                                                  Brooke: 

                                                    I appreciate it. 

And that was where their conversation ended. She wanted to ask why he REALLY texted her, because she knew it wasn't over some damn candles. But she refrained, and instead went online to look up places where she could order a cake. 

XX 

A/N: I know a majority of this was texting and I apologize, but hmmm why did Calvin randomly text Brooke? Interesting. 

I hope you all have a good thanksgiving(if you celebrate, or haven't already because I know in some places it already occurred), and be happy! I hate the holiday honestly, I'd rather just celebrate Christmas, but hopefully tomorrow will be better than most years. 

But anyways, love you all and thanks for reading!


	14. 13.

Brooke let a loud sigh escape from her lips, looking down at her phone in front of her. It was open to her messages app.

Her family was of course spamming that stupid group chat that they had added her in, and she was tempted to leave. But she knew that would cause an issue, so she decided against it. She simply muted it and texted Nick instead. 

                                                                        Brooke:  
                             GUESS WHAT TF HAPPENED   
Nick: 

Bitch WHAT HAPPENED 

                                                                        Brooke:   
                                  Calvin.... he texted me out of nowhere. It was so weird. 

Nick: 

Wdym? 

                                                                        Brooke:   
                                   like he just... texted. Without me texting him first. And it was about completely random things. It was just weird.

Nick: 

ooo

Nick: I think somebody's taking a liking to their fake boyfriend ;) 

Brooke: 

Not true! Just thought it was strange lmao. 

Nick: 

Ight. You would've be thinking about these things if you weren't, but whatever you say bitch ;) 

Brooke: 

Shut the fuck up. 

Nick: 

Make me. 

Nick: 

Anyways. 

Nick: 

Do you have a party outfit yet? 

Brooke: 

Tf 

Brooke: 

I'll pick it out the night before, dw 

Nick: 

Tf you mean, TOMORROW is the night before. And you're trying to snatch them all bald, remember? 

                                                                        Brooke:   
                          Yeah true, but I honestly don't have that many nice things. I'll probably have to run out and get something, yikes.  

Brooke sighed. She hadn't thought about clothes until her friend just mentioned it. 

She quickly dialed a number into her phone, and waited impatiently until it finished ringing. 

"Yeah?" Calvin asked when he picked up. "What's up?" 

"Meet me at the mall, loser. We have some work to do." 

XX 

Calvin's eyes widened as he heard the phone hang up. He didn't know what the hell Brooke was up to, or why she wanted to meet him at the mall. And he sure as hell has no idea what was up with the nicknames. 

He didn't WANT to be at that mall again, but he had a feeling that she would drag him there if need be. 

He closed all of the tabs he had opened on his computer. Before she had called, he was watching the YouTube videos of an old friend of his, Niall. The two still talked occasionally, and Niall has tried to encourage Calvin to start YouTube again. 

"You dropped out of school for it, mate. Might as well make it worth it." He always told him, to which Calvin would simply shrug. 

It wasn't that he didn't love YouTube, he did, but losing his channel meant that he lost all motivation as well. And he had found a new way to make money, anyway. And it was almost as good as the money he made with YouTube. 

But none of that mattered now. He wasn't going to worry about it anymore. What was done was done. He had to get ready to go now. 

He quickly threw some clothes on and made sure his hair was at least presentable, and then headed out. 

When he got to the mall, he texted Brooke to see exactly where she was. 

When she responded, she gave him the name of a clothing store. 

What the hell...? 

He headed to her location, and as soon as he got there, he saw her, looking around at the clothes. 

"Hey!" He called out, causing her to whip around. 

"Oh, hey." She said, approaching him. "You finally came." 

"Well, I was on a short notice." He shrugged. 

"Right. So anyways. You've probably guessed what we're doing here, right?" 

"No. What are we doing here?" He asked her; and she chuckled. 

"Picking out clothes!" She stated, throwing her arms in the air. "You know, for the party. My parents are very picky, and will scrutinize everything, so I figured, why not pick out some nice outfits!" 

"I didn't bring any money..." He started, but she soon interrupted him. 

"Who cares! I'm paying!" 

He sighed. "I have a couple of questions." 

She cocked a brow. "What are they?" 

"One, why the hell are you so hyper? And two, why the fuck do you care so much about what your family thinks? Sure, it's your family, but still." He would admit, the second question sounded a tad bit rude, but he never understood women and their need to please everyone, and how much they cared about everything. 

"First of all, I may be a bit tipsy. Just a bit! And as for the second thing..." She trailed off, looking down. He could tell he had struck a chord, and he actually felt sort of bad for her, and felt bad that he had asked that. 

"Don't worry about it. Now, what are we looking for?" 

"Clothes. Matching colors. Something nice. Something that'll make them think that we actually planned this out. You know, and to make them think we're actually dating." 

"What do you mean matching? Are we really going to wear matching ugly sweaters or something?" 

"Hell no. I mean matching colors, you doofus. Like if I wear blue, you wear blue. If I wear green, you wear green. If I wear red, you wear..." 

"I get it!" He exclaimed, and many eyes were drawn to the two of them. They were arguing in the middle of a store, what did they expect? 

"Good! Good! I'm glad. Now, let's go look for something. Do you like suits? Tuxedos?" 

Brooke wasn't the first female to want to pick out specific clothes for him to wear to his dates, but she was the first ever one that wanted them color coordinated, and she was also the first to drag him to the mall to get the damn clothes. They usually threw him the outfit and told him to wear it, not giving him the choice. 

"None of the above." He answered, smirking. 

"Come onnnn! I don't like dressy things either trust me, but it's a party. We're gonna have to deal, sweetheart." 

"Can you stop it with the fucking pet names today I swear..." 

"Calvin!" She suddenly shouted, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind one of the clothing displays. 

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked her, with a glare. 

"I just saw my aunt. Well, one of them." 

"You what?" 

"My aunt. My fucking aunt Lily. She's here. Great. Great. Great fucking timing. We're just gonna have to wait until she's gonna end try to get out of here without her seeing..." 

"No. Stop. I literally don't get why you're freaking out. You're here. With me. This is the perfect opportunity to be a couple, don't you think?" 

She thought for a moment. Dammit, he was absolutely right. 

"You know what? You're right. Let's go. Let's do this thing." She grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers, and walked out into sight. 

It took about a minute and a half before Brooke and Calvin were spotted. 

"Brooke?" Lily called out, and Brooke pretended to act surprised to see her aunt standing there. 

"Aunt Lily!" She called back, running up to hug the woman. Calvin followed closely behind, feeling a bit awkward. He was just going to have to play it cool. 

"It's good to see you. And this is your boyfriend I take it?" She said, looking over to Calvin. 

Calvin smiled. "Yep, that's me!" He stuck his hand out. "I'm Calvin." 

The two of them shook. "Nice to meet you, Calvin. I'm glad you've finally found someone to settle down with, Brooke." She offered a warm smile, to which Brooke looked down at her feet. 

"Your niece is great. I'm lucky to have her in my life." 

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Calvin, you're so corny. Yuck." 

"Appreciate it, Brooke, cause sweetheart one day you're gonna realize how much you miss those corny little things." Her aunt commented, causing Brooke to roll her eyes yet again. 

I mean good advice but haven't you been divorced about... what is it now? 4 times? Brooke debated to say it out loud, and she was surprised she didn't. 

"Whatever you say." She retorted instead. 

"So what are you two doing here? I'm getting shoes for tomorrow!" Her aunt said. Brooke wanted to come up with a lie and not say that they were getting their whole outfits, but she supposed it didn't really matter as much as she had initially thought. But just as she was going to open her mouth, an idea popped into her head. 

"We're figuring out some... new outfits for tomorrow. I was getting the clothes ready for tomorrow, and this idiot spilled wine all over... everything. So here we are." 

"It was him? That's surprising. That sounds like something you would do, Brooke." Her aunt commented, chuckling. 

Brooke faked a laugh. She was right, that she couldn't deny. 

"I know right?" Calvin added. "Anyways. We better get going now. We need to find something fast. It was nice to meet you." Calvin gave her a fake-warm smile. 

She smiled back. "Nice to meet you too, Calvin. Can't wait to see you at the party." 

"Same goes for you." 

Brooke was glad that he saved her ass. Maybe they were a good duo, after all. 

XX 

After the encounter with Aunt Lily, Calvin and Brooke didn't care exactly what they got anymore. If they could find two of the same color, they were getting it. 

Calvin got a nice dress shirt in plain white, along with nice pants. Brooke just got the nicest thing she could find in white, and nice pants as well, since she didn't want to bother with a skirt or anything of the sort. 

They quickly checked out, and rushed out. 

"Good thing that after a couple of days we'll never have to do this again, huh?" Calvin joked with her before they parted ways. 

"Yeah..." Was all she could muster back, and Calvin could detect a bit of regret and sadness in her voice. 

XX 

A/N: okay first off, happy holidays everyone! Hope you all had/are having good ones, no matter what you celebrate! 

When I first wrote this chapter I thought about something to say in this author's note, but I forgot it now so yeah thanks for reading lmao! 

Love you all!


	15. 14.

A/N: it's here! The Christmas party! What's gonna go down? Let's see, shall we? 

XX

Brooke told herself she wasn't going to drink on Christmas Eve. It was going to take a lot of willpower, but she had to do it. 

The party was the next day, and she couldn't be hungover. She already had everything else in check, she couldn't screw this up. 

Nick made sure to periodically text her to make sure she wasn't succumbing to the alcohol that was sitting around her house. Brooke rolled her eyes. He was just being an ass, but his intentions were good. 

Everything was ready. She had her clothes, her "boyfriend".... 

"Oh fuck!" She exclaimed, remembering something critical. 

The cake. The damn cake. She let out a sigh. Of course. 

"I'm a dumbass." She said to herself. She quickly threw on a change of clothes, and then ran to the store. She looked around at the cakes that you could make from a box. It was her only option at this point. 

She grabbed a chocolate one, it should be easy enough. That's when she realized, she had to frost it. To her, baking a cake was enough of a stretch. Frosting it? That would be another mess. 

So, she put the cake box back where it belonged, and looked at the pre-made cakes. Some of them had "Happy birthday" and various other phrases written on them. 

"Is it so hard to make a plain cake?" 

It took a few extra minutes, but she soon find one with no writing and plain white frosting. It also happened to have a few snowflake designs on it. Perfect. Great. 

"They're definitely going to think you made this, huh Brooke?" She said to herself, laughing. "Oh well. Who gives a shit." 

XX 

She put the cake in her near empty fridge, contemplating whether or not to write on it on her own. 

She decided not to do so, as she would just fuck it up and would have to buy another one, which was an investment she couldn't really afford. So she left it as is. 

Then, she decided to take a nap. 

"I already feel tired tomorrow." She whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and drifted off. 

XX 

Waking up at 8 pm after a nap was nothing unusual, but for some reason, it felt weird today for Brooke. That weird feeling came from the fact that she had had a bad dream. 

She woke up, her mouth dry, and her mind racing. 

She had a dream about the party, and of course, since she could never think positive, the party in the dream was an absolute mess. 

In the dream, her family somehow found out Calvin was a fake, and they were all taking turns berating her and telling her that she was always worthless. Which wasn't that far off, if she was being completely honest. She wouldn't even be doing this ridiculous thing if her family didn't take stupid things like finding a relationship so seriously. 

It didn't matter, though. The dream didn't mean shit, it was going to go fine. At least she hoped. 

And after it all was done, she wouldn't have to worry about this anymore. She could go back to living her life just like she did before. 

The only downside to it, in her opinion, was the fact that she probably wouldn't hang out with Calvin again. He was probably just not going to speak to her again and worry about his next client. 

As awkward as it was at first, he was a fun guy, even if she was paying him to pretend to be her boyfriend, he still went out of his way to hang out with her too. 

Hopefully, he would keep in contact after tomorrow. 

But most likely, that wasn't going to happen. 

XX 

Calvin was starting to get a headache. It was Christmas Eve, and his work calendar only had Brooke on it. 

That was, until a bunch of other calls and messages began to roll in. This always happened, people always called him in the last minute. 

And since he had so many now, he couldn't go to all of their parties. 

An hour for each one would be sufficient. 

He got back to the people that he could fit into his schedule, and as for the others, he had to send them the same old email or message. 

"Hey, sorry to tell you, but I won't be available for the services you requested tomorrow. My schedule is currently full. My apologies, I hope everything goes well." 

He wasn't really used to talking proper like that, especially since his old job was ranting and cursing on YouTube, but since he had this job for awhile, he was quite used to it by now. 

After sending all of the messages, he popped some pills to get rid of his headache, and picked up his phone. 

He was going to lay down, but before he did, he sent a text to Brooke. 

Calvin: hey, I can only be at your party for an hour tomorrow. A bunch of people called and now my schedule is full for most of the night. 

Brooke took a bit to text back. 

Brooke: okay. that's fine. I wasn't expecting you to stay the whole time anyways, lmao. 

Calvin didn't have an answer, so he just locked his phone and laid down.

Christmas really was the most stressful time of the year. 

XX 

The family group chat was blowing up, and Brooke couldn't take it anymore. She muted notifications and all, but there were still a million messages on her phone. 

She went to go see what they were talking about, and low and behold, Brooke and her "boyfriend" were the main topic of conversation.

The others were asking her aunt what he looked like, if he was nice, if they were happy. 

She wanted to text them and tell them that there was nothing to worry about at all, but she decided against it. 

Her family never let her speak her mind or live the way she wanted, and whenever she did, she was scrutinized for it. 

After, that was what had gotten her into this mess in the first place. 

XX

Christmas Day had Brooke nervous as all hell. She woke up earlier than she ever had, and she contemplated going back to sleep, but she didn't end up doing that. 

She was never the type of person to wake up and get ready right away, but today wasn't like most other days. 

She had herself ready and presentable within about two hours, which was a record for her. The party wasn't for hours, but not being ready was driving her insane. She wanted to get this over with. 

She and Calvin had already agreed on a time to meet. She told him the address, he was picking her up. Everything was all set and ready, nothing could go wrong, at least hopefully. 

She texted Nick a quick "Merry Christmas" like she always did, and he responded back saying the same. 

Time seemed to drag, which was an odd feeling to her. She was so used to rushing. To not being ready. 

As she was waiting for the time to approach, she thought to herself how absurd this whole ordeal was. 

It was quite the story. She ended up having to go to a party that she didn't even want to and ended up lying and saying that she had a boyfriend, leading to her finding a fake one on the internet, when there were so many other solutions. 

And when she really thought about it, Calvin was practically a stranger, even at this point. Sure, they hung out a few times and talked, but she barely knew much about the guy. 

But none of that mattered. She just had to get through tonight and that would be it. 

XX 

Calvin was playing his usual music in the car. 

Brooke didn't comment on it as she hopped into shotgun, she was much too nervous to start conversation at this point. She texted the family groupchat that she and Calvin were on their way to the party, and didn't really care about what else they said. 

It was really starting to get to her, the pressure of all this. 

"You good?" He asked her, giving her the side eye. 

"Yeah! I'm fine!" She said, giving a fake smile. She knew he didn't believe it, since that was what everyone said when they clearly were NOT fine. But like most people, he ignored it and continued to drive. 

She stared out of the window, watching the trees, houses, and various other things pass by. There was something calming about it, and for a few minutes she forgot where exactly she was going. 

That was, until they pulled up into her mother's driveway. 

She of course hasn't been there in awhile, but it was still all familiar to her. The house she grew up in. The house she couldn't wait to get the hell out of. And now, here she was again.

She unknowingly let out a sigh, to which Calvin asked "Is this it?" And she simply responded with a nod. 

She stared blankly at the home for a few more seconds, daydreaming and remembering. 

"We gonna go or what?" Calvin asked her, breaking her out of her trance. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just not... ready. You know?" 

"It'll be fine. You just walk in there, with me, blow their minds, I go, and that's that." 

She gave him a fake smile and opened the door and stepped out. He got out seconds after, and grabbed the cake for her. 

"Forgetting something?" He asked jokingly, to which she gave a weak chuckle. 

He walked up beside her, reaching for her hand. At first, she pulled away. 

"So... are we gonna go with the story that we fought before we got here or something?" He asked, cocking a brow. 

She mentally slapped herself. "Oh yeah! Shit! Rental BOYFRIEND. I totally forgot." She reached back for his hand and held it loosely. Together, they walked to the entrance and rung the doorbell. 

The door was open a few seconds later, by none other than Brooke's mother herself. 

"Oh, Brooke. Hey." She sounded less than ecstatic, but had a small smile on her face. If Calvin wasn't there with her, she probably wouldn't be smiling at all. 

"Hey... Mom." She said, barely meeting the woman's eye. 

"I'm Calvin." Calvin quickly interjected, shoving his hand out for her mother to shake, she did so, the small smirk not leaving her lips. 

"Nice to meet you. Wow Brooke, you got a nice one didn't you?" 

"Yeah. I sure did." She said, and she knew she sounded fake happy, but she didn't really care at this point. What she really wanted to do was walk inside the party and stop standing in the doorway, but her mother wasn't going to let her go until she inspected everything about the two people standing in front of her. 

After a few seconds of silent staring, Brooke's mother moved and let the two walk inside. 

"Uh... any specific place you want me to put this?" Calvin asked, motioning towards the cake. 

"You can just put it on the table with the other desserts." She responded, and then she disappeared into another room. 

Brooke seemed to be frozen in place, she didn't know where to go or what to do. She hadn't seen these people in forever, and forgot just exactly how you spent time with family. Do you just walk in and party? Do you have to say hi to all of them individually? She had no damn idea. 

"You good?" Calvin asked her. She felt like she was going to hear that a lot tonight. 

"Yeah, I'm..." She began, but she was quickly interrupted by the song of voices charging into the kitchen where she and Calvin were standing. 

"Brooke! Brooke!" 

It was her little cousins, the only family members Brooke didn't think hated her. They were too young to realize the truth. 

"Hey!" She said to them, smiling. They turned to Calvin and let out a gasp, staring. 

"It's...." 

"Leafy!" 

Brooke was confused. What in the world was Leafy, and why did they look at Calvin when they said it? 

"Brooke, you're dating Leafy?" 

"Brooke, Leafy is your boyfriend?" 

Calvin's face immediately went red at the mention of the word "Leafy", which made Brooke all the more confused. 

"Leafy?" She finally decided to ask. 

"LeafyIsHere! The youtuber! You've never watched him?"

"Uh..." Brooke started, but she wasn't quite sure how to finish. 

"You're so cool! I love all of your videos! Why did you never make a new channel? What happened?" 

"Too many damn questions." Calvin mumbled. He had been lucky enough not get recognized anywhere he went, since he was a well known person on the internet. Of course two small kids would be the ones to do so. "I just... didn't feel YouTube anymore. Literally it was just becoming boring." It was a lie, of course, but what did they know? 

A few seconds after this response, Brooke's aunts and uncles came rushing in to check up on their kids. 

They quickly hugged Brooke and told her "Merry Christmas", to which she said the same thing to them. Too much was already happening in this party and she had just walked into the door. 

"Mommy! Look! Brooke is dating that guy from YouTube that I always watched! LeafyIsHere!" One of the kids exclaimed. 

The woman turned to Calvin, staring him down. It was Lily, the one that Brooke and Calvin had seen in the store. "That one that always curses and says disgusting things?" 

Brooke cocked a brow, listening to this conversation. Did Calvin have a bad reputation or something? 

"He's not that bad!" 

"He made awful jokes, and always cursed. You know I didn't approve. Now that you mention it, I knew I recognized his voice." 

Calvin's face was beat red as the same woman whom he had met and impressed was scowling at him. 

Brooke was starting to get quite embarrassed as well. She brought this guy here to impress her family, but apparently he had a bad reputation. She had to find the alcohol in this party. She knew it was early but there was already too much going on for her to be sober. She grabbed a cup and began to look around. 

The alcohol ended up being right in the garage. There were bottles after more and more bottles. 

She looked at the labels for a few seconds, until Calvin stepped into the garage as well. 

"I feel like you probably want me to explain." He said, causing Brooke to look up. 

"Explain?" 

"Yeah, about the whole LeafyIsHere thing they were talking about." 

Brooke shrugged. "Sure." 

"I used to do YouTube before I got into this business. And not to suck my own dick or anything, but I was a pretty big channel. Hell, I was making such good money off it that I even dropped out of college to make videos." 

"What were you going to college for?" 

"Engineering. But school just wasn't really my thing. Especially after finding a new passion." 

"So What was so bad about your videos? What had my aunt going bat shit?" 

"I just cursed and made fun of a lot of people, like she was saying. I did commentary, which meant that I took the awful videos off the internet and gave my thoughts." 

It was that easy to make money? Damn. "I mean, that doesn't sound too bad. But what happened to it? Did you just give up like you said?" 

Calvin nodded. "Not exactly. YouTube imposed all of these weird guidelines and stuff, and my channel got deleted. I tried to make another one and it got deleted too. So I just decided that maybe YouTube wasn't the place for a person like me anymore. So... I hit rock bottom and ended up doing this." 

"Rock bottom? I relate." Brooke said with a chuckle. "Although, I was never successful with anything. But anyways, do you plan on going back to school ever?" 

"Maybe. I don't know. This isn't an awful job. I mean, I do get to spend some time with some attractive women." He smirked. 

The compliment completely flew over Brooke's head. "And some alcoholics." She said, pouring a drink into her cup. 

"You drink a lot?"

"I mean, to me it's not a lot per say, but to some others... it's too much." She paused for a second. "Ah, who am I kidding. I have a problem." 

Calvin didn't really know how to respond. Sure, he had known Brooke for quite awhile at this point, but hearing things like this wasn't easy. He wasn't really the sympathetic type. It wasn't that he didn't care, he just didn't know what to say to people half the time. 

"I'm already a loser to my family, you know? I don't even know why I try and lie to them. I never gave a shit about anything in life, and it got me nowhere. I can barely hold a job. I can barely do this. I can barely do that. And now, they're gonna think you're just like me. I'm sorry about that." 

Calvin met her eyes. "Don't be. I don't know them like that. I honestly don't care. I should be the one apologizing, because now they're gonna think less of you. Which they shouldn't be. You're a good person, you're fun to be around. I don't know how your own family can't see that." 

Brooke gave him a warm smile, not expecting that in the least. 

"Ah, fuck 'em." She said, becoming the Brooke he knew. "If they hate us, let them. My mom said she wanted me to have a boyfriend, and here you are. Who cares if you used to curse on YouTube. They don't know you. Even if we're technically not dating, this is what they're getting." She poured yet another drink into her cup. 

"Yeah, you're right." 

Brooke smirked back at him and left the garage, and he followed close behind her. 

He wasn't going to lie, Brooke was an extremely fun person and one of the clients he was closest with, he never usually formed a bond with them. And he also wasn't going to lie that he would secretly be kind of upset if he and Brooke never talked again after this. 

XX 

If looks could kill, Brooke and Calvin would have been dead long ago. 

When they rejoined the family in the living room, all they were given were scowls and dirty looks. Brooke wasn't lying, now they had negative opinions on both of them. 

It was time for the annual "games" that were played at every holiday, and they consisted of various things that Brooke couldn't even remember. 

Brooke took a seat next to Calvin on the small couch in the corner, pretending she couldn't see her own family members giving her the stink eye. She couldn't believe this. Calvin was once a YouTuber, so what? He wasn't the nicest, so what? Who really cared? 

Apparently, them. She answered herself . 

They spent the next couple of hours playing some games, and they were quite fun, but Brooke was only thinking that because Calvin was around. 

Winners for gifts, and so far Brooke and Calvin had quite a few. They were mostly from him if she was being honest, he was extremely good at Pictionary where Brooke was more into trivia games and things that required absolutely useless skills. 

After a few rounds of games, Calvin looked down at his watch, and turned to Brooke, mouthing "I have to go." She nodded and got up just as he did. 

"What's going on?" Her mother asked, staring at the "couple". 

"Calvin's family. We have to go see them." Brooke quickly answered. 

Calvin nodded, glad that she was able to answer fast. 

"Oh, okay. Let me walk you two to the door." 

Dear god. 

"I have another client in a bit. I don't know what you meant when you said we, but now she's following us." Calvin said in a whisper, through gritted teeth.

"It was just quick thinking. Wait." 

When they got to the door, Brooke stopped. 

"Uh... babe?" He asked, and both he and Brooke were in shock of the use of that word. It was the first time he used it tonight. 

"Yeah?" Brooke said, hoping the heat sneaking it's way into her cheeks wasn't very evident. 

"Aren't you... coming with?" He had no idea where this was going, so he tried to play along as Brooke's mother watched them like a hawk. 

"You know, I've already seen your family today. Why don't you go spend some time with them while I spend more time with mine?" She didn't want to stay here alone, but then again she did forget that he had a JOB to do. 

"Sounds good. See you around." He said, turning to leave. 

"You're not even going to kiss her?" Brooke's mother had asked, just as he was stepping out. 

She and her snarky little comments. 

"Oh yeah!" He smirked as if he wasn't even embarrassed. 

He moved closer to her. She felt tense and awkward. Of course she had kissed people before, but this was different. This was in front of her mom. 

He leaned in and so did she, and soon their lips locked. 

It was over fast, only a few seconds, but it felt like a century with her mom standing there. 

"See you later, babe!" He called out, actually walking away this time, leaving just Brooke, her thoughts, and her mom. 

XX 

"You're late." The girl standing in front of Calvin looked pissed, to say the least. It was his next client, who was named Dina. 

"Sorry. There was literally so much traffic it took me forever." He tried, but she just was not having it. She got in the car silently. 

Calvin put on his radio, and looked down at his phone, waiting for it to glow, and even he didn't know why. Then again he did, he just didn't want to admit it. He looked back up at the girl in the passenger seat and began to drive away. 

XX 

Brooke alone with her family was probably the worst idea there ever was. 

There were so many questions. 

"Why did your boyfriend just leave?" 

"How did you even meet a guy like him anyways?" 

"What do you see in him?" 

"Is He an asshole to you?" 

At this point of the night, she was pretty drunk and didn't even bother to answer half the questions. She didn't care if she seemed bitchy. They were being rude as hell over something that didn't really concern them. 

She slipped out a few hours later, not saying goodbye to anyone. She called a cab and headed home. 

Soon as she got there, she did her usual daily routine. 

She passed out drunk on her couch. 

XX 

A/N: HEY! It's been forever! And if I'm being honest, I have no idea where inspiration for this came from haha. I still am on a hiatus, all of my finals and such are coming up, but I just was hit with sudden inspiration so why not?? 

Looking at the beginning of this book, my writing has changed so much it's insane. I'm sort of liking my writing a bit better now, I know it ain't the greatest but hey I'm getting somewhere and that makes me happy. 

Anyways, there's a lot that happened here and still a lot more to come, what do y'all think? 

Also something I'd like to address is the fact that most of Brooke's family remains nameless. I do that intentionally, it's not just a slip up in writing haha. 

Anyways I'll stop talking now, hope you all enjoyed, and thanks for sticking with me all this time!


	16. 15.

Christmas, the biggest bump of them all, was over. But somehow, Brooke's mind was still racing full of all sorts of things. 

The main thing on her head though, was Calvin. She still couldn't wrap her mind around what had happened at the party, it had all happened so quickly. Finding out that he had internet fame, that her family didn't exactly APPROVE of this internet fame, that he found her to be attractive, and the kiss. Ah, the kiss. 

Brooke of course didn't really have much romance in her life, the closest she had ever gotten to "love" at this point was when she would hook up with somebody and they would stay the night, so this was an all new feeling to her. 

She wouldn't say she loved Calvin or anything of the sort, that was just beyond fucking absurd, but that kiss was something she hasn't felt in awhile. It was a part of the charade in front her mom, but it also wasn't a bad kiss. Sure, it was only a few seconds, but she could feel that Calvin was into to it, at least sort of. And she wasn't going to lie, she was too. Maybe she was just being delusional, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. 

She did what any rational person would in this situation, she called her best friend. 

"Nick." She said as soon as he picked up. She had no idea what the hell she was going to say to him to explain any of this, but at least he would be able to make her feel better somewhat. 

"Oh, it's about time you called me. Thought you forgot I existed. You have a good date? What'd your family think?" 

"They didn't exactly approve of Calvin, apparently he used to have a bad rep on the Internet. His online persona was 'Leafy' or some shit." 

"Oh, shit." 

"Oh, Jesus Christ. You know who he is, too?"

"Yeah, he was this big YouTuber. He wasn't exactly the nicest person there was. His channel ended up getting deleted because of his content I guess, and his life just took a nose dive. Goes to show you how quick things can change on you." Nick chuckled. 

"Fucking lord. Am I the only person that's never heard of that? What do you mean, 'he wasn't the nicest?' Because my family had major issues with him, they weren't just a little disgusted by him, they were VERY disgusted by him." 

"He was just known as the biggest cyber bully of the Internet. He made fun of people no matter what age they were, made suicide jokes and told people to kill themselves, made rape jokes..." 

"My god. This is the guy I'm dating?" 

"Brooke. You're not actually dating him. You never have to talk to him again. And plus, it was all in good fun, he didn't mean any harm to the people he was making fun of. They were all just jokes." 

"Yeah, whatever. I mean, I get it. People make jokes. And I still think that my family overreacted. BUT, that's not why I called you." 

"Then what did you call me for, if not about Calvin?" 

"Oh, it's about Calvin. Just not about his former... profession." 

"Well, spill sis!" 

Brooke chuckled and took a deep breath. "Me and him kissed last night, after my mom was watching us like a hawk. And I... I enjoyed it. And I'm not sure what that means." 

"Do you think you'd want to kiss him again?" 

"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know, I guess so." 

"Well, did he enjoy it?" 

"I don't know. I mean, it felt like he did. He felt into it. But I have no idea if he just thought it was good kiss or if there was something else. He also hinted at the fact that he found me attractive, so that's something." 

"Okay, yeah. He was definitely into it then. Is he gonna turn from a rental to a full buy. Have you enjoyed the trial?" 

"Oh, shut up! Maybe I did, sue me. I do enjoy his company. I'll text him and see how he feels about still talking to me. We can start out as friends, and if anything progresses from there, it does. If he tells me to leave him alone and that he's getting a restraining order, he does. It's his choice." 

"Atta girl! You're finally figuring shit out. And you might end up with a boyfriend. This is wild." 

"Stop. I can't believe I'm even considering actually dating him for real. I just enjoy his company a lot would like to have him around me more often, is that such a crime?" 

"No! Get that dick bitch!" 

"You're so wild, I swear. But that's why we're friends I guess. We're grown, yet we still talk like this." She stopped for a second, chuckling again. "Well, I'll call you back. I'm gonna hit Calvin up and see what he thinks about this, and then take a big old nap. I also need to start focusing on some other stuff, my money stash is getting low so maybe it's time for a new job." 

"You'll get one. Just take life one small step at a time." 

"I'll try. See you." 

XX 

Brooke never in her life contemplated sending a text for as long as she was contemplating sending this one to Calvin. It was a simple "Hey, got any clients right now?", but it still made her nervous to even think about sending it. She had of course dealt with rejection in her life, plenty of times, but for some reason she wasn't too keen on the idea of rejection from Calvin. 

She wanted to keep talking to him. Besides Nick, Calvin was the only other person that she genuinely ENJOYED spending time with. Much as she loved her best friend, having someone else around would only make things better. She liked talking to people and making new friends. Only problem was, people didn't like her very much. 

She sent the text, and immediately regretted it. 

"What are you thinking? He's not gonna want to have anything to do with you. The relationship was strictly business." She told herself, setting her phone down. She really did need a job. Having nothing to do was forcing her to make bad decisions. 

He texted back a few seconds later, much to her surprise. 

C: "No, what's up? Need another appointment? Haha" 

She quickly typed a reply, hoping she didn't seem like a weirdo for replying so quick. 

B: "No, I was just wondering if we could talk about something." 

C: "What's something?" 

B: "I mean I know you said you usually don't talk to clients after you do the business they paid you to do, but I was wondering if you would want to remain friends. I honestly really enjoy your company and would love to hang out and talk more, it's fine if you don't though." 

Calvin was shocked at her words, he wasn't one that knew how to deal with things like this. He enjoyed her company too. And he almost never texted clients back after he went on their "dates". But with Brooke, he texted her right back, no thinking involved. 

C: "Sounds dope. I'd like that. We always have fun when we hang out." 

Brooke smiled down at her phone. She hadn't genuinely smiled like this in forever. Calvin was the only one that seemed to be able to make her smile anymore. 

B: "Awesome. Wanna hang out a bit today? We don't have to if you don't want, it's all cool." 

C: "Sure. We can chill at mine. I'll pick you up." 

She set down her phone and rushed to get ready. 

XX 

A/N: I know this was short but the next one will be up soon I promise!! It's gonna be a fun one. 

Brooke's sort of finally starting to come to term with the fact that she still wants to talk to Calvin, but will Calvin come around? He seems to be... but will he regret it? Who knows? I mean, I do, but you all will have to see hueheuehe. 

Thanks for reading!


	17. 16.

"I have a question." 

"Yeah?" 

"If you don't make videos anymore, why do you have all of this stuff still up? Like, the cameras and all of that shit? Doesn't it get in your way?" 

Calvin sighed. He should've expected getting this question from Brooke. He was currently showing her around his place. This was certainly a first, showing one of his clients around his house. He never thought that it was something he would ever do. 

"I guess I just didn't want to get rid of it all just yet. Like, what if I want to go back to it? I don't know. I mean, it's not as if I can't go back, someday I might. But life is pretty stable right now and restarting would mean a lot of work." 

Brooke cocked a brow. "I see, I mean, I wouldn't want to get rid of something that gave me good memories either." 

"Yeah." Calvin replied, glad that his house was currently clean. During his YouTube days, his house was quite the disaster. Wrappers, bottles, and the like were always scattered around. He felt relieved that this wasn't the current state of his place, especially since he had someone over. 

A silence hung over the two for a few seconds. Brooke, looking around, learning more and more about Calvin as she did so. How a person's house is kept actually does say a lot about a person, and Brooke was learning more each second. How everything was so nicely placed, she could tell Calvin put time into putting it all together. She could never. She noticed how much technology was around. How big the place was. He must've really made it big in the past, everything he had showed. 

Calvin was standing awkwardly watching her as she looked around, and he could tell that she was analyzing everything. For what he had no idea, but women were just strange and there were some things he couldn't figure out about them, even though his job centered around spending time with them. There were just some things he'd never be sure of, he was positive of that. 

A few more seconds pass, and Brooke quickly took notice of how awkward it was in the room all of a sudden, and she spoke up. 

"We should order a pizza. Are you hungry? I'll pay." Brooke told him, giving him a smile. 

"Sure. That sounds good. But you don't have to pay. I can do that." 

"No." Brooke replied with a smirk. "I'm paying. Consider it gas money." 

XX 

"Do you want something to drink? I'll get it for you." 

"Wine?" 

It was meant to be a joke, but Calvin took it completely seriously. "Okay, I'll get us some. Pizza and wine. Aren't we the fucking epitome of classy." He said, chuckling. 

Brooke didn't tell him it was supposed to be a joke, because now pizza and wine sounded oh so appealing to her. It sounded as if it was something that was meant to be, and she was surprised that she had never tried it before. So damn surprised. "Oh, we are. I thought we've known this." 

Calvin went to go get the drinks, and Brooke grabbed the boxes of pizza and put them down next to her. Why they had gotten two boxes she had no idea, but that didn't matter. 

The setting reminded Brooke of a high school hangout, the two decided that they would just sit on the floor, and put the pizza beside them. It was so childish, but at the same time so comforting and nice. 

"I almost just spilled your drink. Would've been making you pay me." Calvin said, walking into the room, the filled glasses in his hand. 

"No the fuck you wouldn't have been. How'd you even know that the glass you almost spilled was mine?" Brooke joked back. 

"Because I said so. Shouldn't that be enough for you?" 

"Asshole." She said, snatching one of the glasses from him. 

"Thanks, I appreciate the compliment." 

XX 

"You know, the first time I got caught drinking, I was drinking wine. I'm not sure what wine it was, but it was wine." Brooke told Calvin, chuckling. The two were getting more and more buzzed by the minute, and were talking about life as they ate. 

"Did your parents want to cut your head off?" 

"Kind of. I was stupid about it. I literally took a bottle of my mom's shit like she wouldn't notice. Maybe she wouldn't have noticed if I just took a swig or a glass. But no, my dumbass took the whole bottle and hid it under my fucking bed." 

"Really? The first time I got caught doing something bad, it was smoking weed. And I got caught simply because I forgot to shower and reeked of the shit." 

Brooke chuckled. "I guess we're stupid as hell when we're young, huh?" 

"Yeah, literally." 

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't so dumb and actually listened to my parents, you know? Maybe they really did know what was best." 

"Your family is fucking insane. I wouldn't listen to them, ever." 

"Well, that's just you. They're my family. I've had to live with them and deal with them for so many years, sometimes I just wondered if i could've made them like me a little more. There's a huge part of me that doesn't give a shit what they think or say to me, but there's this little part that nags me and tells me to care. I hate it, because it usually ends up winning." 

"Is that why you called me? That little part?" 

Brooke took another sip of her wine to purposely delay answering him. "Yeah, pretty much. I was sick of them telling me I had to find someone and blah, blah, blah. I'm a grown adult, what happened in the past happened, I can't really change it. But for some reason, I wanted to knock them off their feet and show them, even if it was a lie." 

"Yeah... I'm sorry I wasn't exactly the best person for that." 

"Do you usually get recognized on jobs?" 

"It only happened a few times before you. It wasn't as blown out of proportion as it was with your family. People just said they recognized me and went on with it. Your family acted like I was literally Satan." 

"Yeah, they're weird. They overreact so much, they've always been that way." 

Suddenly, Calvin's phone rang. He grabs it and answers. 

"Hello?... Yeah, that would be me." 

Brooke recognized this conversation. This was a client. 

The conversation continued for a few more minutes, it was almost identical to the conversation that Brooke and Calvin had when she has first called him. 

"Yeah. I feel like a couple days would work better. My schedule is full. Alright. Yeah. Sounds good. We can figure out more details about meeting up eventually, but I'll mark your name down. What did you say it was? Amy? Okay. Bye, Amy." 

Brooke felt a pull in her heart when meeting up was mentioned, remembering the first time she and Calvin met up. How awkward it was. And here they were now, eating pizza and drinking wine on the floor. 

He hung up the phone, letting out a sigh. 

"Another job?" Brooke asked, even though she knew the answer. 

"Yeah. She needs me to come to some party that her job is holding, because people at work are harassing her and she wants to get them off her back. She's hoping that I'll work. I can't say it will for sure, but as long as I get paid, I'm fine with it." 

"I feel you. I mean, that's actually a good reason for calling. Mine was just to impress my parents." 

"All reasons are fine. You wouldn't have called me if you didn't need me." 

"Fair enough. Also, I have to ask you something." 

"Yeah? Go ahead." 

"Am I really the first girl that you ever did this with? You know, that you kept talking to after the job was done." She knew it was the wine that was making her both open up and say things like that, but it didn't matter. It was still a question she was curious about. There was no way. 

"Yes. You really are. Trust me. This has never happened before." 

She wanted to ask why he kept talking to her, when her phone suddenly rang. 

"It's my mom." She said, letting out a loud sigh. "How great." She contemplated declining the call, but then she realized that her mom would just continue to call back again and again. 

"Hey." 

"Hey! Brooke! I was just talking to your aunt and we've been thinking about a girl's night out, where we go to dinner and just talk about things. We're going to go this Saturday, and we'd love it if you'd joined us." 

Brooke usually had to think for awhile to come up with excuses, but all she had to do this time was look at Calvin and she knew what to say. 

"Mom, I'm sorry but Calvin and I are going out that day. I'm really sorry, I wish I could make it." 

"Is that so?" 

"Yeah, I'm actually with him right now, if you want to talk to him." 

"No, that's okay." Brooke couldn't see her face, but she was sure that the woman was scowling right now. 

"Alright. Well, enjoy the girl's night. Maybe some other time." She said in her fake happy voice, hanging up the call before her mother could say anything more. 

"She's nuts." She told Calvin. "She literally called me to tell me that she and my aunt were going out, and wanted to invite me. As if. So she could ridicule me again and again? Yeah, right." 

"What did she say when you said you were with me?" 

"She sounded really disgusted. She really does hate you, I guess." 

"I guess to her I'm no better than you." 

She gave him a smile. "Guess that means we're a match made in heaven." 

XX 

A few more hours were spent talking and drinking, and Brooke soon came to the conclusion that this was one of the best nights she had in awhile. It was simple, but so much fun. 

"Why did you want to keep talking to me?" She finally asked him. 

"I guess I just like your company. You're fun. Different from anyone else I've met." 

"Am I really? I just don't think that's true." 

"Then why else would you be here? If it wasn't true, you would've been like everyone else. You would've just been forgotten to me. You would try to contact me, but I wouldn't respond. With you, I do respond. Do you believe me now?" 

"Yeah, I definitely do. I just get doubtful sometimes, I guess." 

"I would just say that you have really bad fucking luck with people." 

"That's true too." 

He wanted to reach out and pull her into a hug, but he didn't know if that would make things awkward, so he just gave her an expression that said he felt bad. He really did. Upon learning more about her tonight, he realized that she was insecure deep down about things and about herself. Sure, she was brash and sometimes said what she was feeling, but that didn't mean she couldn't be insecure and hate herself sometimes. Everyone did. Calvin didn't really know if he had ever experienced anything like that, he mostly blocked out his emotions. 

"I'm glad to stay friends. We can ignore the stupid awkward shit in the past that we did and just live as if we met a long time ago." He said, turning away from her for a quick second. 

"I think some of the stuff we did was fun. Namely the shopping. It was the only time I felt good while shopping." 

"You're right. We did have a lot of fun. At first, I thought you would be like the others. And you're not. I know that sounds corny and shit, but it's true. You're a fun person, no matter what you think." 

"You're fun too. I never expected this to come from using you to impress my mom." 

"Well, it did. And I enjoy your company." 

"I enjoy your company too." 

XX 

More time passed. Calvin and Brooke were beginning to run out of things to say. Maybe it was the wine and how much they had, maybe it was the fact that they had been talking for hours and hours. Either way, they were getting tired. 

"You wanna crash on the couch?" Calvin asked her, and she nodded. 

"There's a blanket on there. Just use it. I'll bring some pillows." 

"Okay, thanks. I had fun tonight too. Just saying." 

"I know. Me too." 

He got her stuff and out it on the couch for her, and she immediately fell back onto them. She was ready to sleep, the world around her was becoming blurry. 

When Brooke went to sleep on the couch, she wanted to ignore the warm and fuzzy feeling that was filling her. But she couldn't. She just couldn't. 

XX 

A/N: this only took me ALL DAY. I've been hits with lots of inspo lately, so maybe this story will finally get back on track (hahaha you thought). 

Also this story will be two years old in August and I have no idea how to feel. Like has it really been that long? Woah. 

Anyways; thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed!!


	18. 17.

Some time passed since the hangout on Calvin's floor with pizza and wine. 

During this time, Brooke and Calvin hung out quite a few more times. Going out to dinner, ordering take out and watching horror movies together, even just going for a walk. 

"It sounds like it's getting serious." Nick joked once Brooke had told him all of these details. 

Brooke rolled her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It means that any minute now, you'll be telling me that you and him are official." 

Another eye roll. "You and I go out to dinner. We hang out and do things together. Does that mean we're gonna be official soon too?" 

"Okay, good point. But do you call someone else to gush about what you and me do?" 

He was right. And she didn't have a response. This was ridiculous, really it was. Here she was, a grown woman, calling her best friend to gush over a guy. It was so high school. 

But she wanted to talk about Calvin. She didn't mind gushing about him. Brooke didn't really have a lot of stability in her life, obviously. She had Nick, sure, but that was always just it. Now, she had Calvin too. 

Going out with Calvin was much different than going out with Nick. With Nick, it was just two friends having fun. With Calvin, the atmosphere was so much more different. And she was sure that he felt it too. The tension. It was so thick that Brooke felt as if she could cut it with a knife. 

He had to feel it too. He just had to. There was no way that he couldn't. 

So, she took her phone and texted Calvin, a few simple words that she hoped would work. 

Come over. We need to talk about something. 

It was time for her to be an adult and come to terms with her feelings, whatever the hell they may be. 

XX 

"So what's something, and why were you so vague about it?" Calvin asked as soon as he stepped inside. The door led immediately to the kitchen, which wasn't huge, but not a bad size either. Out of all the times they hung out, this was the first time they went to her place. Brooke didn't exactly come to that realization until he began to look around, his eyes darting everywhere possible, trying to take in everything. He didn't look for very long though, not nearly as long as Brooke had taken to scan his place when she first saw it. 

"It's nothing that special, I just wanted to... clear the air." She said, turning away from him. 

"About...?" 

She motioned towards the kitchen table, urging him to sit down. "Sit. We'll get to it. Do you want a drink?" 

"I'll just have water." He told her, sitting down. It was odd, seeing Brooke this nervous. She was never like this, she never held back when she had to say or do something. This was obviously something big. But what the hell could it be? Calvin had no guesses, how could he? He barely knew what he was thinking, how would he be able to tell what someone else was? 

She set a bottle of water down in front of him and sat in the seat opposite of him. "So, I just want to... clear some things up. It'll make me feel better, and I'm sure you'll feel better too." 

Calvin cocked a brow. "Oh, really?" He was beyond curious now, what was she about to tell him? 

"This whole thing is weird to me." She shook her head, turning away from him. "I have a question." 

What the fuck? "Ask me." 

"You think of me as a friend, right?" 

"Yeah. Why are you asking?" 

"Because I've had friends before. I still do now." She was stammering over her words, something she only usually did when she was drunk. She knew could be awkward, but she was never THIS awkward. She really had no idea what to say. "But it's never been like this. There's something else here, Calvin. I guess that's what I'm trying to say." 

"I don't even know what the hell that means. Care to elaborate?" 

"I just feel like there's something more than friendship. And I may just be blowing everything we ever had right now by admitting this, but I just wanted to know if you felt the same." 

"So what you're saying is... you have feelings for me." 

Her face immediately flushed, and she swallowed hard. "I mean if that's what you take from it..." 

"No. Tell me. Do you have feelings for me?" 

"I don't know. It's just... there's obviously something very different that I notice when I'm with you, opposed to everyone else that I hang out with. That's all." 

"Brooke..." Calvin said, turning away. She could lie all she wanted to, but Calvin knew what she was saying. She DID have feelings for him. She thought of him as more than a friend. He, on the other hand, had no idea what to make of this. 

"What?" She asked him, not able to meet his eye. She was already regretting doing this. 

"This can't be a thing. You know that, right?" 

"What can't be a thing?" She asked him, finally turning to meet his gaze. 

"Us. You and me. You having feelings. It can't work." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"You know my profession, right? I'm a fake boyfriend. I can't have a girlfriend while doing something like that, I'd feel way too guilty. It just won't work. I'm sorry. I knew there was tension between us in ways I couldn't really explain... but I didn't know that it was because you had feelings for me. I'm just... sorry." 

Brooke didn't know what to say. Maybe he was right. She did have a bit of a crush on him, and was hoping that it would escalate into a possible relationship. She really enjoyed his company and him a person. But he was also right about the job thing. She hadn't thought of that. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think of that." 

"That's exactly why I never talk to girls after the job is done. I always feared something like this would happen." 

Suddenly, Brooke felt something click in her mind. "So what's gonna happen now? You're just going to cut me off like you did everyone else? I can't really help what I feel, but we can still be friends, I can push it all aside." 

"So you admit it. You admit that you have feelings for me." 

"Why are you being such a dick all of a sudden? I just wanted to clear the air, because this is something that's been bothering me. I'm sorry if that bothers you and your perfect profession." 

"When did I say that? I'm just saying, it's weird to have a girl have feelings for me when I do the job that I do. It's just something that can't happen." 

"Whatever. It's fine." 

"Is it really though? You're being so damn sensitive all of a sudden. I get that feelings happen but you have to get it. Would you really want to be with me if I went out with other girls constantly? Especially when one of them could end up in a situation like this?" 

"I don't think it matters what I want. I know I can't force you to feel anything, I'm not asking you to marry me or anything like that. I just thought you should know, because it felt wrong if I didn't tell you. You're acting like we can't still be friends." 

"Do you not see how awkward this conversation is? This is what our friendship is going to be all of the time now. You feeling something for me, while I just keep going on with my life. Does that not seem wrong to you?" 

"Oh, well fuck me for telling you something that I thought you should know. It's the end of the world." 

"I never said that..." Calvin said, clutching his fist and then standing up. "I'm just gonna go." 

"Yeah, you do that." She said to him as he walked away. 

"Text me." She said to him just before he shut the door on his way out, leaving her wondering if he even heard her. 

XX

Brooke had two theories. 

The first was that Calvin never did hear her. The second was that he did hear her, but he never wanted to talk to her again. 

Both were plausible, but she didn't know which was true. Either way, she wasn't going to cave and text Calvin first. She promised herself that. 

If he didn't text her soon, she knew that her second theory was probably correct. 

XX 

"I feel like I overreacted. I feel like it was my fault. Do you think it was my fault? Did I overreact?" Brooke asked Nick. She invited him over, and he had noticed how frantic and desperate she sounded. She had just explained everything to him. 

"I don't think you did at all, honestly. I feel like it could've gone better on both sides." 

Brooke gave him a glare. 

He shrugged. "What? You want me to keep it real with you, right? I'm just saying. You couldn't have given him all of the attitude, you know your attitude gets you in trouble, but at the same time, he shouldn't have walked out and not agree to be friends. People get friendzoned all of the time. It happens, and people carry on like friends. It's not that serious." 

He wasn't lying about the attitude thing, not one bit. "Do you think I should text him?" 

"You said he isn't talking to you, right?" 

"Right. He usually always texts me. If I don't don't text first, he does. Like me and you." 

"How long has it been?" 

"Only a day. This all happened yesterday." 

"I'd say wait it out another day. Maybe he just wants to cool off. You had a falling out, it happens." 

"Whatever, I don't really care if he doesn't. I'll wait and see, if he does, he does. If he doesn't, he doesn't. I'm not going to lose sleep over it." 

"Are you sure you don't care?" 

"Well... I don't want to lose our friendship, but like you said, arguments happen, and this wasn't your typical argument. I'll just have to give it time and see, and not obsess over it." 

"That sounds like a plan to me." 

"Yeah, it does. So, do you want to go out to eat? Or go and do something?" 

XX 

In the following days, Calvin never did text Brooke. She was tempted to pick up her phone and text him just to see what was up, but she decided against it. 

Maybe he was playing the same game as her, the game of "are they going to text me first." It was stupid, she knew that, especially since the two of them were both grown adults. 

Brooke also felt the urge to do some drinking. She drank when she was mad, bored, sad, excited. She didn't know exactly what the case was here, but she needed alcohol. 

She grabbed her keys, and just as she was going to leave, she said "No." 

She wasn't sure why she was all of a sudden not wanting to drink, but maybe that was a good thing. It was odd, for Brooke Hayes to not want to drink. 

But for some reason, as she was about to walk out of the door, she remembered all of the nights she spent passed out, waking up in her own vomit, feeling hungover the next day. She suddenly realized that drinking wasn't just something she could use to fill her up whenever she had a void inside of her. 

She realized that this didn't mean that she was cured of her drinking problem, but for once, she felt like she was in control. Usually, whenever she wanted to drink, she gave into the urge. But tonight, she wouldn't do that. 

She would order a pizza and watch a movie instead.


	19. 18.

A/N: surprise! Double update! Go read the chapter before this one if you haven't! :) 

XX

Brooke couldn't remember the last time she had a clean streak with drinking. She always turned to it for most occasions, she would promise herself not to do it again, and it would only be a couple of days before it all started up again. 

She felt like this was how it went every time. She would get passionate about giving drinking up, saying that she wouldn't go back, but it always ended the same. 

But this time, she told herself to be serious. She couldn't give it up if she wasn't willing to try. A drunk every once and awhile would be okay, but she couldn't drink in excess like she used to. 

She didn't know what made her want to do this all of a sudden, but she did. And she wouldn't argue. Maybe she just realized that it was time to get her life together. 

She was ready to find her own job, because she was getting extremely low on money. And if she did end up getting one, she couldn't be getting drunk all of the time. There were other ways to cope with feeling shitty. 

It had been about a week or so since the stupid falling out with Calvin, and he still hadn't text, but she didn't care too much. She had bigger things to worry about. 

She was ready to better herself, for nobody but herself. She felt as though she owed herself that much. Her family had convinced her she was nice worthy of anything, maybe that was why all of those years she never thought she could better herself. But now, she wanted to actually try. Not pretend she was trying and then the next day go back to her old ways. 

She knew that most people went to get help, but she wasn't really the type. She was more the type that wanted to do things her own way, so that was what she was going to do. 

She had to want this. She couldn't just say it and do it without any passion, that never worked. And this time, she surely did. 

XX 

Job hunting got more difficult every time, it seemed. 

Brooke hated it. Applying online, going around to see what was hiring. She was surprised at how few jobs were available around this time, and also annoyed. She needed a job, and she needed that job now. 

She sighed as she stepped back into her house, after an unsuccessful day of searching. What a damn waste. 

She collapsed on her couch, turning on the tv. She was pissed, to say the least. 

But hey, it was her second day of sobriety, so it was all good. 

XX 

Brooke's sobriety streak this time lasted for 5 days in total. The stress from job searching had gotten to her, and she had caved and had a little more than she should've. 

But it was fine. Everyone has their off days, and times when it gets to be too much. 

Usually, she would just consider it a failure, and go back to her old ways. Which were, obviously, back to drinking whenever she felt the need. 

But this time, she wasn't going to let that happen. She was going to get right back on track, and not allow herself to be pulled down again. 

She was ready. 

XX 

"I think it's great that you're doing this. And I don't think it makes you weak if you relapsed. What matters is that you go back in. You deserve to be happy, and I know you can do it." 

Brooke smiled over at Nick. "Thank you. It's good to have you around. You always help me." 

"I'm always here for you, you know that. You can do this, I know you can." 

Brooke leaned over to hug her friend. Nick was the greatest support system she could've ever asked for. 

XX 

Calvin was miserable, to say the least. The culprit of this misery? His job. 

It was beginning to become more and more of a drag lately, he was becoming so damn uninterested. 

He would go with his clients wherever they needed, but now, he didn't even bother to do the meet ups first to build chemistry. Whatever happened, happened. They were paying him to become a fake boyfriend for them, not to be friends. Doing anything more was too much of an effort. 

"So, Summer. Tell me what you want me to do for you." He told his new client over the phone. 

"Well, this guy has been harassing me at work. Like, he won't get off my back. And I can't stand it anymore. So I need you to show up at the office and maybe bring some flowers or something, and just get him off my back I guess. Just make it obvious that we're dating." 

"Yeah, sure. Is tomorrow okay?" 

"Yes, tomorrow would be great." 

"Any specific flowers you want?" 

"I honestly don't really care. No matter what, I'm going to pretend to be happy." 

"Yeah, and I'm going to pretend to be your boyfriend." 

She gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, you will." 

"Give me all of the necessary locations and things I'll need to know, than we'll see each other tomorrow." 

XX 

That night, when Calvin went to the store, he found himself buying two bouquets of flowers. What the other was for, he didn't know. 

Well, he did know. But he wasn't going to admit it. 

XX 

Brooke wasn't expecting to find a job at the worn down convenience store in the plaza by where she lived. 

She was getting desperate, and desperate meant that she was going to seek out every option that she could possibly find, even if some of those options weren't exactly that promising. 

Luke's was one of those not so promising options. 

The store had been there for as long as Brooke could remember, but she rarely went in there or ever saw anyone in there. It was an average place, selling snacks, drinks, and various other things. 

Brooke didn't know why nobody ever went there. Maybe it was because there were so many stores like it. Brooke really couldn't say, just like anybody else couldn't. 

She stepped inside, immediately aware of the big "HELP WANTED" sign by the cash register. Behind the cash register was an older woman, a bit tall, with her hair in a tight bun.  

"Hey." She said, causing the woman to look up. Upon their eyes meeting, Brooke realized how tired the woman's face was. "Are you guys hiring?" 

"I mean... yes. You're the first one to come in here and ask that." 

"Well, I've been looking for work, and I saw the sign. So I figured I'd give it a shot." 

"You see, I'm usually a one woman operation. But I'd be glad to have help. I'm trying to get this place back on it's feet." 

Brooke nodded. 

The woman extended her hand, and Brooke reached out as well and the two shook. 

"Janelle." The woman introduced herself. 

Brooke smiled. "Brooke." 

And like that, she was hired. 

XX 

"Where is this place again?" 

"I already told you. It's in the plaza, with McDonald's and all of those places." 

Nick cocked a brow. "Really." 

"Yes, really." 

"Wait. Do you mean that little place at the end of all the places, that just has a little sign on the door?" 

"Yes. It's called Luke's. It's just a small store." 

"And you just got hired first thing. No interview or anything?" 

"Yes. She needed the help, so she hired me. She told me that it's her family's store, and that she's the only one left to pick it all back up. She kept closing it and opening it again, she never knew what to do. That's why she barely got any traffic. It's hard, in a place like that, with all of those other stores around, to do business." 

"Well... I mean, it is pretty secluded. You can barley tell it's there. All there is, is a small sign." 

"Yeah, secluded..." Brooke said, her phone ringing and interrupting her. She picked it up, expecting to see Janelle's name on the caller ID, calling to give her more details or something. Instead, she saw Calvin's. 

"Oh shit." She said, chuckling and showing the phone to Nick. 

His eyes widened. "I knew he would." 

She answered. "Um, hey." Great. It was already going to be awkward. 

"Hey. I just wanted to say something. The other day..." 

"It was about 2 weeks ago." She interrupted. 

"Well, I guess you're still pissed." 

"No, I'm not. I was just correcting you. Go on." 

"Anyways. I just wanted to say, I was out of line then. I shouldn't have been like that, it was so stupid. We can be friends." 

"It's fine. I feel like I need to say sorry too. My attitude got out of hand, and I didn't mean to get so upset. Let's just move past it." 

"I agree. I'm actually on route to yours so we can talk personally." 

"Oh... okay. Nick's here right now, if that's okay." 

"Brooke, I was just heading out! It's all good." Nick suddenly exclaimed, loud enough for Calvin to hear on the other end. He mouthed "Go and get him." to Brooke as he walked away, to which she couldn't help but roll her eyes. 

"Well, guess not." She said, laughing. "See you soon, then." 

"Yeah. See you soon." 

XX 

When Calvin walked in, he was carrying flowers. 

"Flowers? Interesting." Brooke commented. 

"Hey, I figured it would make a good peace offering. You girls like them, right?" 

"Yeah, sometimes. I'm not really a flower girl, though." 

"Right. Should I have brought alcohol, huh?" 

"Actually, I've decided to start and cut back on the alcohol." 

"Oh, really." 

"Yes. I'm going to have drinks occasionally, but not overdo it." 

"Wow, you can really miss a shit ton of things during two weeks of not speaking." 

"Yeah you can. Wanna know something else?" She asked him, with a smirk. 

"Yeah, tell me." 

"I have a job now too. At a store." 

"Really? Well, it looks like we have literally two weeks of catching up to do." 

"Yeah, and let's get to it. Sit down." 

XX 

A/N: two big chapters in a row? Some character development? Big things happening? Who am I, and what happened to Ashleigh. 

All jokes aside, I hope you all enjoyed these two chapters, the next one is already in progress, so don't be too surprised if you see another chapter pop up soon! Summer is going to be coming to a close soon, and I've been doing so much writing, because I know when school starts I'll have barely any free time. Sigh. 

Anyways, thanks for reading, love you all so very much!


	20. 19.

"So, why did you never text me?" Brooke asked Calvin, sitting down in front of him. These were the exact seats that they were sitting in when their argument happened, and Calvin hoped that this time it would go a bit more smoothly. 

"I just didn't know what terms we were on. Good, bad, I had no idea. And the last thing I needed was you freaking out again." 

"Yeah, I get it. I'm sorry for freaking out, I know I said it already but it was super ridiculous to act the way that I did. Nobody can help feelings. Even if you feel nothing at all." 

"It's fine. I get why you acted the way you did. Nobody reacts well with rejection." 

Brooke felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Thinking about it now, she was mortified at how she acted and started an argument over rejection. She never really liked being rejected, but then again who did? It was no reason to act as childish as she did. She wanted him to agree and say that he had feelings for her, and she let that cloud her judgement. "That shouldn't be the case. I just shouldn't have been so stupid. It's my fault." 

"Not completely. Look, let's just move past it and live our lives." 

"I agree." She said, letting out another sigh. The embarrassment from the way she acted would probably never die down. She would just have to live with it. 

"Well, tell me about your job. Where is it? I know you said a store, but you never told me what one." 

"Luke's." 

"What? I've never heard of that." 

"Nobody has. It's in the plaza right by here. The woman who was there, Janelle is running it all by herself, and has been, for who knows how long. She was obviously in need of help, so she hired me." 

"Oh. I mean, that's cool. I'm glad you found a job." He gave her a warm smile, and she gave him one right back. 

"I'm glad too. It's about damn time. How's your job been going?" 

"The usual. You know, it's becoming more and more of a drag as time goes on. Like, it's good money, but it's literally not fun anymore." 

"Are you going to stop it, then?" 

"No. Of course not. It's just a drag lately. Maybe I'm just stressed and worn out, I don't know. But I literally feel like death." 

"I'm sure it'll get better with time, and as long as you rest." 

Little did she know, that wasn't the solution. "Yeah, I guess so. So, how's the sober life been?" 

"It's been fine. Hell at certain times, like when I just feel like downing a whole bottle of the strongest shit I can find. But hey, I'm trying and that's what counts. Right?" She asked, looking to him as if she needed his reassurance. It would feel good, but she didn't NEED it per say. 

"Yeah, right." 

She smiled. "Thanks." She heard herself say, even if she didn't know why she was thanking him. Maybe it was just the fact that he was supporting her and making her feel better, but she would never admit that. 

"Yeah, no problem at all. I have a job tomorrow. I have to go to some workplace and bring her flowers and pretend to be her boyfriend to get some creep off of her back or something." 

"Oh, did you bring me HER flowers?" Brooke asked with a chuckle, looking once again at them. They were really pretty, she had to admit. 

"Oh, no. I bought some for you, some for her." He looked away as soon as he said that. 

Brooke wondered what exactly he thought when he bought her the flowers. Did he think she would like the colors? Did he smile thinking about seeing her again? She quickly cleared her mind of those thoughts. They had already established how they both felt. It wasn't like that, nothing was going to change that. "That's nice. Thanks for them, by the way. They're actually really nice." 

He smirked. "Thought you weren't a flower girl?" 

"I don't know about that anymore. These are beautiful, the more I look at them the more I fall in love." 

"Really?" 

"That's kinda stupid, actually. But they're nice." 

He didn't know why she had suddenly retracted her statement like that. Maybe it was just another weird woman thing. "Well, I'm glad you like them. I guess they were a good peace maker after all." 

"Yeah, they were. Do you wanna watch a movie or something? We can chill for a bit, I miss it." 

He smiled at her. "Yeah, sounds like a plan to me." 

XX 

"I think we need a sign." 

"A what?" 

"A sign. You know, something that will catch everyone's eye when they walk by." 

Brooke was at work. After the initial hiring, she had of course given Janelle her contact information and other things. It wasn't a formal interview but it was enough to assure that she could work. 

Janelle had called her, and asked her to come in. Brooke would be working most hours that the store was open, since she and Janelle were the only ones there as of right now. She didn't mind, it was more money and more time distracted from drinking, at least that's what she made of it. 

"You know, I usually turn away most people that come here, or tell them to leave after awhile. I usually run a one woman show here. I don't like people telling me what to do." 

Brooke took this a threat. She didn't want to be fired. "I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to boss you around." 

"No, you didn't let me finish. Normally, I don't like people bossing me around because they usually tell me to do the wrong thing. But you, you've given me a good idea. I like you already." 

"Thanks. And no problem, it's just the first thing that comes to mind when I came in here today, you know?" Brooke said, smiling at the other woman. Janelle could be quite intimidating, Brooke had to admit. But she didn't seem like a bad woman, not by any means. 

"Yeah, you're right. Our old sign used to light up. But then it went to hell, so I tore it down. It wasn't big or anything, but people knew the place was here." 

"So... have you always owned this place?" Brooke asked, cocking a brow and looking around. The more she looked, the more she realized that the place was actually really well kept. Clean, and it was also pretty appealing to look at. 

"Not always. It's been in the family, and I was the only person that really believed in it. It's named after my grandfather, who passed away. A typical story, I know. But I still love this place and plan to keep it going." 

Brooke nodded. "That sounds really good. I'm glad I can be able to help with that." 

Janelle gave her a smile. "Yeah. I am too, actually." 

XX 

The job was of course a hassle, just like every other one. 

Calvin couldn't seem to catch a fucking break. The guy that he was supposed to be protecting his client from was beyond annoying, asking him too many questions. 

"Where did you meet?" 

"When did this happen?" 

"Do you really like her, or are you messing with her?" 

Calvin was lucky he had been doing this for awhile, and could make up stories extremely easily. In this fake world, he met the girl at a bar. They began to talk and he loved talking to her and he found her a very cool chick to be around, so he decided to pursue her further. It was simple, and the guy seemed to believe it and walked away. 

After the job was over, Calvin told his client that he would need payment at the end of the week. She agreed and thanked him. 

Usually, he would feel satisfied having completed another job. It was his job, why wouldn't he feel proud when he did it? But this time, he could care the less. He wanted to leave and go home, just like he did when he had first gotten here. 

He knew there was an underlying reason for him not liking his job anymore. He just didn't like to think about it. 

This reason was Brooke Hayes. Ever since she admitted to her feelings, he thought. He thought about her. He wondered. He wondered if he felt the same way. And he didn't know the answer. 

All he knew that his answer was leaning way more towards yes than no. And that scared him, because of his job, of course. He sort of felt as if his job was forcing him to suppress his real feelings, and he was only denying it because he didn't know what would happen if he ended up with Brooke. He had a job he had to keep. And he didn't want to do this if he had an actual girlfriend. Brooke might be fine with it, but it just felt wrong to him, so he wasn't going to do it. 

There was nothing else he could do, nothing else he had any desire to do. It was awful, but that was just the way it was. 

So did he possibly want to be with Brooke? Maybe. Did he have feelings for her in the slightest? Possibly. (By possibly he meant yes he was just too chicken to admit it.) 

But he didn't know what to do, or how to act on them. He contemplated telling her, just like she did with him, but he didn't know what would happen afterwards so he would just have to wait. 

He would tell her eventually, he just didn't know when "eventually" was. 

XX 

A/N: short as hell chapter, but oh well guess you gotta have them sometimes rightttt 

It's currently 3 AM and I don't know why I felt randomly inspired to finish this but I hope you all enjoyed regardless. 

Thanks for reading, love you all always!!!


	21. 20.

Brooke felt the buzzing of her phone as soon as she stepped outside of the Luke's. She reached into her pocket and grabbed it. She was done with work for the day, not much happening as always, but she and Janelle were working on making a sign for the store, to make it a bit more showy and maybe get some business. One guy did stop in today though, buying a mass amount of protein bars. Brooke wondered what they were for and had asked the man playfully what he was doing with them, and he simply replied with a grunt. 

"Oh well, at least it's someone!" Janelle had said, and Brooke couldn't help but agree. Shortly after, her shift had ended for the day. 

She looked at the caller ID on her phone, and almost dropped it. It was her mother. What could she possibly want now? She had been ignoring her family like she always did, not needing their judgement in her life. She was doing just fine. 

She answered, sighing. "Hey, mom." She said, hoping that she didn't sound as annoyed as she was, because her mom would certainly have something to say about that. 

"Brooke, hello! Wasn't expecting you to answer so quick!" Her mom replied, and this was actually code for 'Why have you been ignoring me?' 

"I just left work, you called just as I was about to go home." Brooke decided to add a fake chuckle after this. 

"Oh, that's good! Where do you work?" 

Brooke had forgotten that she didn't mention work to her mom. "A store near where I live." 

"Oh, really. That's nice. Glad you're doing something with yourself, you know how bad sitting in the house all the time and drinking is!" 

"Yeah. So, what's up? Were you calling just to check on me?" 

"No, actually. I'm going to having a family dinner party. And I want you and Calvin to come. You're both still together, right?" 

Brooke felt all of the blood rush to her face. What came out next wasn't something that she expected to say. "Yes, we're still together. And yes, we can be there. What time, where is it, and all of that?" 

Her mother gave her all of the details, obviously happy. Brooke wondered what her mother would've said if she told her she and Calvin weren't together. She probably would've uninvited her or something crazy of that sort. 

Either way, she was fucked. How was she going to tell Calvin this? She could've just lied and said she had work, or something like that. Why did she lie every single time? It was getting ridiculous. But what was done was done. 

XX 

Brooke had often wondered, in her teenage years, if her mom had some sweet satisfaction in how her daughter had turned out to be everything she didn't want. 

Her father had left the family before she even knew what his face looked like, and sometimes she wish he was around. Would things be better if he was? 

Of course, her mother hated having to show off her failure of a daughter(to her standards), but behind closed doors, whenever her mother told her what she was going to turn out to be if she kept doing what she was doing, she had a secret smirk on her face. 

Brooke always wondered about this. Was she happy because she was the ideal woman and that she didn't have to compete with her daughter. 

Life with her mother had always been competition. They were always at each other's throats about something. Her mother seemed to have her mind in the past when it came to how women had to be, and Brooke always thought that it didn't matter. People were people, and they should turn out whatever way they pleased. 

Sure, sometimes she did wish that she didn't succumb to an alcohol addiction. That part, her mother was right about, and she would always admit that. The thing she always had a problem with, were the standards that her mother had held for her. Had to find this, do that, Brooke was surprised she hadn't told her to go live in a fucking cottage with no internet access. 

Brooke also started to realize more and more how her mother hated ANY women that went against her ideal lifestyle. 

Whenever a woman engineer, reporter, or anything of the sort spoke on the TV, her mother always had a snide comment. Brooke always just thought that maybe she wished she was them, but as she got older and looked back, she realized that she wanted all women to be like her. 

She had always tried to control Brooke, and that was why she always rebelled. She did regret a lot from her teenage years, but she was also glad she didn't follow her mother's ideal path. 

The worst thing was, even if Brooke had spent her entire life rebelling, her mom still had a power over her. She always had. 

Brooke's mother knew how to convince and make her daughter feel guilty for not living the "perfect" life. 

Brooke promise herself a few years ago not to worry about it anymore, and that's when she only talked to her mom when necessary. It was also when her mom stopped inviting her to things, after she had told her several times she didn't have any relationship and didn't plan on it anytime soon. 

But when Christmas rolled around a few months ago, her mother's power over her again made an appearance, and it of course worked, like it always did. 

That was why she even in this mess with Calvin to begin with. She felt bad for dragging him into her insecure attempt to impress her mother, and for actually falling for him in the process. 

This was an absolute disaster. She was going to see if Calvin would want to take the job, and that would be that. She was going to try and not let her mother overpower her again. She was going to try and not have to drag Calvin into this again. 

But she doubted that would happen. Because she was just as weak as she always was. 

XX 

"Don't be mad." Brooke said, poking at her sweet and sour chicken. Calvin had wanted Chinese takeout, and Brooke had never really been the biggest fan of it, but she wouldn't complain. Some of it was good, just not something she'd eat daily. 

"At?" Calvin asked, his mouth full of rice. 

"Me. My mom called today. She said she was hosting a party. And she wants me and you to come, asking if we're still together." 

"Let me guess." Calvin said, bringing another spoonful into his mouth. "You told her yes so you could impress her again." 

"I mean... yeah, kinda." 

She saw him quickly roll his eyes, as if she couldn't see him. "Why do you feel the need to show that you're better than her all of the time?" 

"Listen, it's a long story. But I'll pay you for it and everything. It can be a job, just like at Christmas." 

"Is that how this is now?" 

Brooke stared at him, just then realizing how fucked this was. "You think I'm using you." She said, more to herself than to him. 

"I'm not saying that. Just saying, it does seem strange is all. You're so obsessed with pleasing her when you've told me so much that you hate her." 

"I do hate her. She made me hate myself for my whole life. I did stupid things to look cool and she would always demean me. She was always right. She told me if I started drinking, I couldn't stop. If I didn't go to college, I wouldn't be able to keep a stable job. And look where I am now. She's always right. And I hate that. I always wanted to be me, but I couldn't. I don't even know who I really am, you know? I just rebelled and did dumb shit because it would piss her off. And it got me nowhere. I just wanted to be right and impress her for once, and that's why the Christmas thing even happened." 

Her mother had obviously fucked with her head when she was younger, and this was something Calvin had never dealt with, so he didn't know what to tell her. He was confused as all hell. "Well, I think you should just say screw her. She obviously never cared about you when you were younger, it's literally not gonna change now." 

It hurt to hear, but maybe he was right. "It's just... strange. Once I brought you around, she wanted to talk to me again. Maybe I just wished that things were different, all my life. I just wanted a normal mother daughter relationship I guess. Whenever she sat me down to talk about where I was going wrong in life, she was never giving me good advice or acted like she cared. She would just call me a failure, and sometimes be happy about it, because I wasn't better than her. But at the same time, she hated to be related to me. It was always so confusing. My relationship with her has always been something that is hard to explain." 

"Yeah, I get it. It was obviously nothing fun. I'm not a therapist or anything, but I really think that it's best just to live your life and cut her out. She doesn't contribute anything good to your life." 

"Yeah, I guess. I don't mean to put you in a position where you don't know what to say. I guess I wanted her to be impressed, but also wanted her to be right on this as well. I tried dating, but I never clicked with anybody." 

"So you just decided to call me." 

"Yeah, I did. I wanted her to be shocked that I was dating, and I couldn't find an actual guy, so you were a godsend. I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess." She looked down at the ground, sighing. 

"Don't be. We're friends now. And friends talk to each other." 

"Exactly. Thank you. I barely even talk about this stuff with Nick, nobody understands. It's just a clusterfuck." 

"I understand all I need to. You shouldn't be around her, and she shouldn't be around you. You're past the point of ever having a relationship." 

"I guess you're right. This means a lot to me. I guess I'll just call her and tell her we have reservations or some shit." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. 

"Call her now. I want to see you do it." 

Brooke chuckled, then realized he was serious. "Okay." She said, pulling out her phone. 

She didn't waste anytime, just told her mom that she and Calvin actually had a date that day, and they hadn't been able to go on one for awhile. 

Her mom had initially put up a fight, but once Brooke lied and said that their relationship was "falling apart" and that they needed this outing, her mother said it was fine, telling Brooke "Finally someone is staying. Don't let it fall apart. Or you're going to be alone forever, trust me." 

Brooke ignored the comment and told her bye and they hung up. 

As she stuffed her phone back into her pocket, Calvin smiled at her and said, "What if we did have an outing. We don't have to wait until that day of course, but we haven't gone out in awhile, you know?" 

"Yeah, I agree. It would be fun. What were you thinking?" 

"I was thinking maybe... well I have literally no fucking idea. What do YOU want to do?" 

"I don't know. See a movie? Go to dinner? Go to laser tag? Chuck E Cheese?" 

"Wait, laser tag. That's actually a good idea." Calvin said, smiling. With Brooke, he felt as though he could go and do these fun and "childish" things and actually enjoy himself. With most of the people he had been around in his life, this would all end up being extremely awkward. 

"Right? I was just saying that as a joke. I really wanted to go and get blasted, then see a kid's movie. But laser tag seems like fun too!" 

Calvin cocked a brow. "Thought you were sober? I wouldn't let you get blasted anyways." He told her with a smirk. 

"I still am I swear! Sometimes I just forget. But hey, laser tag it is I guess." 

XX 

A/N: FUNNY STORY. So I sat myself down and planned this whole story. It was gonna have 24 chapters plus an epilogue. And then, this chapter came out and it FUCKED MY PLANS. So after this was done, I planned everything else out. It's now gonna have 22 chapters and an epilogue. Some real CHEESY shit is incoming. I mean, y'all signed up for this shit by reading a romcom. 

Also, this was done for about 2 hours before I actually posted, because I wanted to make sure I could make a plan from this. I'm sorry for keeping it for so long(beat my ass honestly I deserve it), but we got a plan now bois! 

Thanks for reading, and as always, all the love to you!


	22. 21.

A/N: forgot to say this last chapter but thanks for 10K reads. That's a lot! And it's such a good place to end it on!! 

XX

"Can I confess something?" Brooke asked as an electronic song played in the background. She and Calvin were driving to the laser tag place. He had picked her up at work. They had no idea where this place was, so they had to put the address into the GPS. 

"Go ahead. Confess." Calvin replied, taking the turn that was instructed to him by the screen. 

"I've never actually been to laser tag before." Brooke answered, chuckling and looking out of the window. "That's awful I know." 

"You really haven't? You've never went with friends or anything?" 

"Nope. Never. Don't know why I never thought of it, but you'll be popping my laser tag cherry." She gave him a playful smirk.  

Calvin shot her back a playful look of disgust. "Guess that's one way to fucking put it." 

"Okay fine. You're taking me laser tagging for the first time ever in my life. Is that better?" 

"Much better." 

"That's good, grandpa." 

"Hey, don't resort to name calling. I'll fuck you up." 

"Oh really?" 

"Fucking really. You wait until we get there. I'm going to use the fact that you've never been to my advantage." 

"Well, that's not very nice." 

"Neither was calling me name. Maybe think next time you speak." 

"Maybe you should get punched in the face." 

"You do that, and we swerve. You'll be going down with me. So go right ahead." 

"Fair point. I'll save it." 

XX 

"I forgot how to get this thing on." Calvin complained, waving around his vest as if it would magically appear on him. 

"Are you kidding? I've never been here and I figured it out in two seconds." Brooke said to him with a chuckle.

"Shut up." 

"It's easy!" Calvin heard a small voice say behind him, and he turned to see a kid who couldn't be older than 12. "You just put your head in, then your arms..." 

"Well, thanks. Showoff." He scoffed. 

"Well, I'm sorry that you want to impress your girlfriend. I'm just trying to help. You're not gonna impress her by looking stupid." 

Calvin couldn't help but chuckle. "Do you have a girlfriend?" 

"No, but I know a lot of stuff about girls. So you might want to listen to me." 

"Okay, will do." Calvin said sarcastically, pulling his vest on. 

The boy walked away, and Brooke turned to Calvin, laughing. "Well, he had game, didn't he?" 

"Yeah, he must have all of the fucking bitches at his middle school all over him." 

"You actually think he's in middle school? More like elementary school." 

"I'm in the middle school! Get it right, losers!" The boy called to them, he must of heard them. 

"Jesus, kids these days are really fucking mouthy." Calvin commented. 

"Did he strike a nerve by calling you a loser? Poor you." 

"Fuck you, Brooke." 

"Hey, can you stop cursing? There are kids here!" A middle aged woman said to Brooke and Calvin. 

"I don't think Calvin here can do that." Brooke joked. "But we're sorry." 

"Neither can you. Don't flatter yourself." Calvin replied. 

The woman gave them a glare. 

"She's definitely going to be reporting us later." Brooke whispered. 

"Literally. Gotta love middle aged moms. I say FUCK and it's as if I said I was going to murder her children." 

"Calvin! You really don't hold back, do you?" 

"Neither do you, maybe it's a fault we both possess." 

"Okay, okay!" Called out a man whose name tag read Richard, standing in front of the group in the lobby. "I'm going to turn your vests on. I see some of you detached your guns already, but go ahead and do it now if you haven't. When I turn your vests on, they're either gonna flash red or blue. That color determines what team you're on. You have 3 lives. Get shot three times, you're out. Your vest and gun will turn off. There is a time limit, and whoever has the best score by then wins. Unless an entire team gets eliminated. Have fun." He hit a switch, and everyone's vests lit up. 

Calvin and Brooke looked at each other's. They were on the same team. 

"Casanova kid isn't on our team. We are definitely going down." Brooke said, and she and Calvin couldn't help but laugh. 

XX 

It was a tie. When the time was up, Brooke and Calvin has already been out for a few minutes. They stuck together for most of the game. 

"I can't believe casanova kid took BOTH of our last lives." Brooke said as she slipped off her vests. 

"He was chasing us the whole game. I'm not fucking surprised." Calvin replied. 

"I'm thirsty now." 

"Me too. And hungry." 

"You wanna go somewhere to eat? I'll pay, since you so nicely REFUSED to let me help pay to get in here." 

"Whatever. Fine. Let's find somewhere." 

As they were walking out, casanova kid caught up to them and said "I killed you both!" before running off. 

"He's just the type I'd make a video on when I did YouTube, I swear." Calvin said as they watching him run off. 

"Really?" Brooke asked with a laugh. 

"Yes, oh my god. I can already see the way he acts in school just from meeting him today. I can only imagine the type of videos he would make to act cool." 

"What if he already makes videos?" 

"That's not my place anymore. Guess I'll leave it to one of the other fucking channels." 

"Guess so. Bully." 

"Hey! Not anymore." 

"Mhm, sure." 

"Don't act like a fucking saint. You speak your mind too. We're just not pussies. That doesn't make us bullies." 

"Well, I guess you got me there." 

XX 

They decided on a simple burger place, one of those retro ones that you would see in a shitty teenage movie. 

They were seated at one of the booths, deciding on what to order. 

They talked about simple things at first, about life, work, and just random things that popped into their minds. They ordered, got their food, and things took a turn in the middle of their meal. 

"Hey, can I just fly something by you real quick?" Calvin asked, causing Brooke to look up from the burger she had in her hands. 

"Go for it." She told him, putting the food down and focusing on him. 

"Okay, so flashback to that time we didn't talk for awhile. It was because you said you saw something more than friendship between us. Remember that?" 

"Yes, I do. I remember it clearly." She was hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was going. She felt a knot beginning to form in her stomach. 

"Well, what if I said I thought that too?" 

The knot untangled. "Um, What?" 

"Look, I've never been good with this cheesy shit. I don't know how to tell you what the fuck I'm feeling, it feels way too corny. But yeah, I've felt the same as you. Hearing you say it just made me confirm it in my mind. But I didn't know how to say it then. I know it was stupid to not talk to you because of it, but I just thought you should know." 

"Wait, you're being serious?" 

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I like spending time with you, I always have. You're a fun person, and we always have more than enough fun when we do things." He wanted to add that she was just the person he had always envisioned himself with, but didn't want to make it TOO cheesy. He felt as though he was already doing enough. 

"I agree." She felt herself smile, and she was also unsure what else to say. What the hell has brought this on? 

Suddenly, Calvin's phone rang. He went to pick it up. 

Brooke took a few bites of her food while Calvin went outside to take the call. 

When he came back, she started, "So, do you want to-" 

"It was a job call." Calvin interrupted. "I got a party to go to tomorrow." 

This meant that he didn't want to talk about the previous topic anymore. She wouldn't push it, but how could he just abandon it like this. "That's cool." 

They ate the rest of their meal practically in silence. When Calvin drove Brooke home, they were silent too. Brooke wanted more than anything to ask him what they were going to do now. She had been in a few relationships before, and even if they didn't last, she knew this wasn't how they begun. Calvin just confessed that he had feelings too, didn't that mean they should at least be able to talk about it? Calvin had completely blown her off. 

Did this mean they weren't going to talk for awhile? Brooke didn't want that. Now that everything was on the table, things should have been easier. But they weren't for Calvin, she supposed. 

She would just have to wait and see what happened.


	23. 22.

"It was so weird. He told me that he had feelings for me and that he just never knew how to tell me, and then his phone rang, and it was someone calling about a job. He took it, then when he hung up I tried to keep the conversation going, and he literally just left me hanging. Didn't talk about it anymore. The fuck?" Brooke said into the phone, confusing still running through her. She had tried to call Calvin, but he either declined the calls immediately or just ignored her. She didn't know what to think. 

"I mean, the way you've described him before, he doesn't really seem like the type that knows how to talk about feelings. I'm guessing he doesn't like it. Maybe it was already awkward enough for him, and the phone call was a relief. Maybe he thinks you don't think of him that way anymore." Nick told her. 

"He didn't really ask. Him and I are friends, of course we are, and we agreed nothing would be weird if I didn't expect anything more. And I didn't. I was fine having him as a friend, but little did I know he wanted the same thing the whole damn time." 

"He obviously just never knew how to tell you." Nick couldn't help but chuckle as he continued. "I feel like I'm in a Hallmark movie right now." 

"Oh, shut the fuck up. I mean, I do too. But Calvin, he's the only guy I've felt a connection with in a long time. Weird I know, but I'm really glad to have met him, even if it was because of a mess." 

"I'm sure he's glad to have met you too. You two wouldn't be going through all of this if he didn't." 

"He's not answering me yet. I guess I'll just have to wait it out, huh?" 

"Yeah, just give him time. I'm sure he'll come around." 

"You're right. Guess I can just be too pushy sometimes." 

"You guess?" 

"Listen, I know it's a bad trait. I'm working on it." 

"I was kidding. But you can start by just waiting until Calvin decides he's ready to talk to you." 

XX 

The job seemed like every other job, no doubt about it. 

Calvin's client, Nicole, had a party with her co workers. One of said Co Workers, Stuart, had been preying on Nicole for awhile, and even though Nicole had turned him down, he was persistent. 

The more and more jobs Calvin went on, the more he realized how fucked the world was. All the girls that called him had awful circumstances. Their calls were practically a plea for help. 

He noticed Brooke had called, but he was going to ignore it for now. He had work to do. 

He had talked to Nicole for a bit before the party, because he had to get to know her a BIT. But he didn't have many opportunities, since she was calling as a last resort. She was nice, and seemed chill as hell. 

Calvin got dressed(it wasn't anything too formal, he just couldn't wear sweats), and headed to the location, where Nicole said she would meet him. 

The greeted each other and went inside. 

It was a typical "work" party, food lined up on tables, and people chatting and laughing. The room reeked of cheap perfume and the food, it wasn't a pleasant combination. 

"Where is he?" Calvin whispered, and Nicole glanced around the room. 

"Over there." She said, gesturing towards one of the tables of food rather than pointing. Calvin didn't blame her. 

He checked him out. He was a bigger guy, pretty muscular. Calvin could see how someone of his stature could intimidate somebody. He turned away quickly, careful not to stare or draw attention. 

"I don't think he's going to do anything." Nicole said. "Especially with you here. I just need you to pretend." 

"Of course, that's what you hired me for." Calvin replied with a chuckle. 

The two got food, and sat down at one of the tables. A few of Nicole's work friends came over and inquired about him, and she told them that he was her boyfriend, not even resisting. 

Calvin faked a smile and just went with whatever she said, occasionally glancing over at Stuart, who was sitting just a few tables away. He kept glaring their way, Calvin could feel it. 

After a little more sitting while Nicole socialized, pretending to be intrigued, Nicole stood up with a start. 

"He's coming this way." She whispered to Calvin, and looked up to see what she meant. Stuart was walking their way. 

"Oh, great. Just act calm. Maybe he won't be as bad since I'm here." He reassured her. 

"Nicole!" Stuart said, taking a seat at the table. He was smiling, but Calvin could tell it was fake. 

"Hey, Stuart." Nicole replied, trying to remain calm. 

"Who's this?" Stuart asked. 

"I'm Calvin." Calvin quickly responded. 

"He's my uh... boyfriend." It was the first time that Nicole had hesitated all night. 

"Oh, really. You never told me this." Stuart turned to Calvin. "How long have you been with her?" 

"A few months." Calvin lied. He could clearly smell the alcohol on Stuart's breath. 

Now, he turned to Nicole. "Oh, really. Is he treating you good?" 

"Everything is just fine." Calvin answered for her, because he could tell that this confrontation was making Nicole nervous. 

Stuart stood up. "Was I talking to you?" He said, shoving Calvin out of his seat. 

Calvin wasn't a big guy by any means, but Stuart made him look even more puny and small. 

"That's not necessary. Listen, to sit back where you were." Nicole said, standing in front of the man. 

"It was necessary. He didn't know when to keep his mouth shut." 

Calvin got back up. "I was just saying. I'm her boyfriend. There's no need to harass her. Like she said, go back to where you were." 

That did it for Stuart. He was on Calvin immediately, punching and everything. Calvin didn't really have much of a fighting chance, although the did try and push the larger man off of him. 

"Stop!" Nicole was shouting, but it of course didn't work. 

XX 

Calvin shoved the piece of tissue up his nose farther, feeling it already get wet with blood. 

The party had ended abruptly, after the fight had happened, everyone began to clear out. 

Nicole and Calvin were sitting on a bench outside. 

"I'm really sorry. I didn't know he would do that." She said to him, reaching up to touch his shoulder. He pulled away. 

"I don't care. He caught me off guard. It's fine. I'm fine." He replied. 

"If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, I'll do it." 

He got up. "That'll be fine. Thank you, though." He just wanted to get as far away from this fucking party as he could. 

He never dealt with something like this before. Never. There had been crazies, but never a FIGHT. Maybe it was sign. 

Whether it was one or not, he was going to use it as one. 

He pulled out his phone, and called Brooke. 

"I'm coming over." 

XX 

"Geez, what the hell happened to you?" 

It was the question that Calvin was expecting when Brooke opened the door, and that was what he got. 

"There was a fight, the guy caught me off guard and hit some cheap shots. I'm fine." Calvin told her. 

"Really?" 

"Yes, really." 

"Alright, long as you're okay now." 

"I am." 

"So what's up?" She asked as they stepped into the living room, sitting next to each other on the couch. 

"I thought about something on the drive here." 

"What was that?" 

"I thought about leaving my rental boyfriend job. And I'm going to do it." 

"Why?" 

"Not only because of the fight. But the fight was a wake up call, I guess. I always just take up things that make me good money but are never good full time things." 

"Like YouTube?" 

"Yeah, like that. But this isn't a good full time thing for another reason." 

"What?" 

"It's not a good job for me to have, because then it limits me from pursuing a real relationship." 

Brooke looked at him, willing him to continue. 

"What I'm saying is, I'm sorry for being a fucking idiot and not continuing our conversation at the burger place. I took the job, but didn't talk to you about what I said because it felt wrong. I felt you wouldn't want to be with someone doing that. But it was stupid. I think it's time we pursue an actual relationship." 

He reached out, and grabbed her hands, throwing her completely off guard. She wasn't expecting this from him, not at all. 

"So, what do you think?" He asked her. 

"I think you're right." 

XX 

"Come on, there's no need to be scared. Why are you acting like this?" 

Calvin regained his composure, sighing. This was all Brooke's idea. He wanted to go back to school, and she said it would be good to save up some money. He deleted his ad off of the internet, so he was no longer a rental boyfriend. He had some money left over, but it wasn't nearly enough. 

"She's nice. Just come on!" She said, pulling his arm. This felt so strange, him being so nervous. He was so used to being self employed that this was such a big change. But, you had to do what you had to do. 

She dragged him inside, and pulled him over to the cash register, where a woman was waiting. He already knew who this was. 

"Janelle, meet Calvin. He's a great guy looking for a job to make some money to go back to school. I think he'd be a great addition to our little joint."


	24. Epilogue

It was Christmas again. Brooke and Calvin were still together, but for real this time. So Brooke had no hesitation while on the phone with her mother. 

"Calvin and I are still together." She said into the receiver. 

"Well, do you want to come to our party? We've been wondering about you." 

"Do you want me there just because I have a boyfriend? If I was single, would you still invite me?" 

"Listen I don't need this, you always have to argue everything-" 

"Calvin and I are throwing our own sort of party, though. You can drop by if you like." She was being sarcastic, but as she said it, she sort of liked the idea. 

"I'll see if I have time. Very good of you to spend time with him, though." Then she hung up. 

"God. I swear, she's never talked to this much in the whole time knew you." Nick said, chuckling. She and Calvin decided to invite him over for their little party, which was them eating store bought baked goods and chatting. This year, Brooke even got a Christmas tree. Calvin had pushed the idea on her. They weren't living together yet or anything, but they spent a lot of time together, of course. 

With dating Calvin, she noticed things that you probably wouldn't expect from a guy like him. Sure, he could be goofy and sarcastic, but he could also be super sweet and caring too. It was the perfect combination to Brooke. 

And this Christmas, Brooke decided maybe it wasn't as bad as she originally thought. The corny music, corny music, they all weren't unbearable now. 

"Well, that's too bad. She's missing out." Calvin said, shoving another cookie in his mouth. 

The two had been working well together at Luke's, making a good amount of money. Calvin was planning on enrolling in the next fall semester of college. He would work part time. Calvin and Brooke worked on a nice sign for Luke's and it brought in some more customers. Business wasn't booming by any means, but they were doing better by the day. 

Brooke was still sober, and hoped she could stay that way forever. This was better than she had ever done, she was proud of herself. 

As the time passed, she kept looking out of the window. Even though she was being sarcastic about her mother coming, there was a part of her that wished it would happen, just so she could see how happy her daughter was. 

But that didn't matter. She pushed the thoughts aside, one last time. She had to stop chasing something she would never get. Her mother didn't care, she only cared about her image. It was time to let her go. 

The only two people she needed and cared about most were sitting right there in front of her. 

THE END. 

A/N: big note coming right after this but thanks so much for reading this, I'm actually so sad to let it go oh my god. 

I love you all so much and I love this story so much ahhh I might cry.


	25. Final Note

If you're reading this... well, you've reached the end. 

This story has been 2 years in the making, and it's so crazy to think that it's finally done. 

Even if I'm not going to be writing anymore Leafy fics, I'll never regret joining this fandom. Sure, I regret the cringe worthy stories I wrote when I first joined, this one has always been my favorite. 

Call me crazy, but I miss the prime Leafy days. The days when he was at his best and not trying to grab cash. The memories I have because of him won't go away, crazy as it is, but in 2016 I was going through bad shit and it helped to have writing and his videos. Too bad things had to turn out the way they did. 

I can't express how great it was meeting all of you, though! Not only was writing this fun, meeting you all was just as amazing!! Truly, I've met some great friends that I've talked to everyday(still do)! And if we don't talk and would like to, don't be afraid of me! I've had many people tell me they're intimidated. Don't be! I'm no better than you just because I wrote this, trust me! 

Thanks for always supporting this story, and keeping it alive!! Brooke is the first ever original character in fan fiction that I've written, and she'll always have a special place in my heart! I'm glad you all loved her and reading her story just as much as I did!  

This story was always a relief to write. All of my other stories are so serious and this was my first ever attempt at a romcom. I have a secret love for them if I'm being honest, but I never really attempted writing them because I thought they'd be embarrassing and awful. But look! I finished!! 

It's been such a pleasure writing this and meeting you all. Thank you for always sticking by and giving me encouragement. I hope one day I can turn this into an original story. It'll have to be edited a lot, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. This is my first draft, and I know it's not perfect, but I'm actually quite proud of this story. 

Thank you all for everything again, and here's to the two year adventure we had! 

-Ash.


End file.
